When I came to Lake Land College in 2013, I was fortunate to join a group of people who believed in a shared vision−Engaging Minds, Changing Lives, through the Power of Learning. This statement is an extension of the “students come first” vision created by our founding fathers in 1966. It is woven into our culture and has served as the catalyst for our tremendous success and growth over the years.
At Lake Land, faculty and staff are committed to helping students create individualized plans for success. Every year around graduation, we ask graduates to tell us who has made a difference in their lives. In 2019, we received 900 responses with many faculty and staff receiving numerous words of thanks. The stories cover everything from a student’s gratitude to a passionate faculty member who inspired him to pursue a new career path to a student who was struggling in nursing school and later that night received an encouraging email from a faculty member.
These are just a few of the stories behind the data the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program recently considered when naming the top 15% of community colleges in the United States. The institute reviews nearly 1,000 community colleges biennially, looking for colleges with strong student outcome data—in learning, completion rates, employment rates and earnings and equity.
In 2020, the Aspen Institute named Lake Land College among the top 15% tier of community colleges in the nation, marking the college’s fourth time to receive this recognition in less than a decade.
Several of the data points reviewed by Aspen officials are also tracked in our Strategic Plan. According to the Lake Land College Strategic Planning FY 2019-2021 Report to the Board of Trustees, our retention and completion rates are exceeding the national averages.
The retention rate from fall-to-fall for all first-time community college students in the nation is about 62%, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. At Lake Land College, the fall-to-fall retention rates grew from 65.7% in fall 2014 to 68% in fall 2017, exceeding the national average.
The same is true for completion rates of first-time, full-time students completing a degree within three years of the expected time. The completion rate for the cohorts of these students between fall 2008 and fall 2015 at Lake Land averaged 50%. This is well above the national average of 23.5%.
As the data shows and the Aspen Institute recognized, assisting students in reaching their goals is the anchor to all that we do at Lake Land College. We continuously evaluate programs and services and develop enhancements to create an excellent learning environment for our students.
Receiving this honor from the Aspen Institute for the fourth time in less than a decade spotlights the outstanding collaboration and commitment our faculty, staff and trustees demonstrate on a daily basis. We are grateful to offer our community members the opportunity to grow and learn and in doing so, change their lives through the power of learning.
–Dr. Josh Bullock, President