The U.S. Education Department (ED) announced this week the 200 institutions — nearly half of which are community and technical colleges — that are eligible for the new Postsecondary Success Recognition Program.
Part of the Biden administration’s broad Raise the Bar initiative, the program seeks to identify and uplift colleges and universities that promote social mobility. The initiative aims to counter a higher education narrative centered around exclusivity as a measure of institutional value.
After soliciting feedback, the department used publicly available data to identify colleges and universities that have met key equity performance measures and will be invited to participate in the next phase of the selection process. The measures include enrolling high shares of low-income students and students of color relative to the population of the state, delivering robust graduation or transfer outcomes for those students and providing a strong return on investment, measured by recouping program costs and earning a premium over high school graduates in the state.
One hundred predominately associate or certificate-granting institutions were identified, including 90 public community and technical colleges in 22 states and American Samoa. The institutions are invited to complete an application for one of the inaugural awards by November 1.
