Rend Lake College advances to the second round of the Aspen Prize
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Rend Lake College advances to the second round of the Aspen Prize

February 14, 2024

INA, Ill. (February 14, 2024)—Rend Lake College has been selected to advance in the next round of the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

RLC has been invited to participate in a 45-minute video call in what Aspen calls a “leadership interview.” It is meant to improve Aspen’s understanding of the efforts being made on campus to improve levels of student success.

The people selected for the interview are RLC President Terry Wilkerson, Executive Vice President Lori Ragland, Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness Chad Copple, and Vice President of Academic & Student Services Henry “Buster” Leeck.

"We've made it to the top 150 every year they've awarded it," Wilkerson said. "We've made it past the first round one other time. It's a testament to the good work and a credit to the team who put this report together."

That report was spearheaded by Ragland, who has been involved in multiple Aspen programs. She said they ask for "a little bit of everything." This year has not been much different from previous years, she added. It focuses on student success areas such as completion rate, how long students are in a program, where they are going after RLC, along with assessment of student learning and equitable access. 

RLC is proud to be recognized by Aspen for our quality education we provide students and people in our community.

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