Clarendon College is starting the fall semester on a high note after the school was named one of the 50 Best Community Colleges in the United States recently.
Classes began Wednesday, and fall registration was continuing Tuesday as the Enterprise went to press and late registrations will be accepted through September 6.
Clarendon officials announced the college ranking at the August 15 meeting of the Board of Regents after TheBestSchools.org ranked the college 36th out of the best schools in the US, and it was ranked second among three Texas junior colleges on the list.
CC President Phil Shirley said the organization determines the 50 best college by looking at several benchmarks for student success.
“We are thrilled with the listing,” Shirley said. “It simply demonstrates that we are headed in the right direction. The criterion they utilized to determine the best 50 colleges exactly reflects what we have been trying to accomplish over the last three years.”
TheBestSchools.org says it selected the top community colleges based on a comparison of several studies and ratings of community colleges, each with their own unique selection criteria, as well as the schools’ reputation and a review of notable community colleges. While completion/graduation rates are important to any college’s success, they identified several factors as especially significant to select the top community colleges: Sustained Achievement Outcomes, Learning Outcomes, Deployment Outcomes, Equitable Outcomes, and Cost-to-Value Outcomes.
Clarendon was specifically praised for its “impressive diversity of students, including international students, despite its small size,” for its wide array of degree and certificate programs, for its wide selection of athletic teams and student organizations, and for its Kids College program. The organization also recognized Clarendon for its #28 ranking by CNN/Money ranking in 2012 of the nation’s top community colleges.
“Our policy has always been student centered,” Shirley said. “There is only one reason that we exist as a college and commit our lives to our profession: to achieve success for each and every student.”
Shirley said CC had some important help in its path to excellence, including joining “Student Success By the Numbers” and working with mentor, Rick Voorhees, as well as receiving assistance in developmental education through an S3 Grant, which was $320,000. He also praised the college employees for their part in the listing.
“I am proud of the dedication of our administrative team, faculty and staff. Without their dedication this listing would not have been possible.”
No other Panhandle or South Plains community college was listed by TheBestSchools.org. The only other Texas community colleges on the list were Brazosport College in Lake Jackson (#29) and Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde (#42).
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