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Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, is one of the 10 institutions chosen as finalists for the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
Dr. Vicki KarolewicsThe Aspen Prize is awarded every two years to recognize colleges with high and improving levels of student success that includes equitable outcomes for students of color and from lower-income backgrounds.
Wallace State, Northwest Vista College in Texas, and Moorpark College in California are three finalists noted for fostering cultures. The colleges — among more than 1,000 community colleges nationwide considered for the Aspen Prize — have implemented the Institute for Evidence-Based Change’s Caring Campus model to improve student success.
“Student success is at the heart of everything we do as a college,” said Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics.
Karolewics said the college’s intentional focus on providing holistic student services, informed and inspired by its work with Caring Campus, has helped it move the needle on student success. She said that, after completing Caring Campus in 2020, the college began implementing an annual Welcome Week, in which staff greet new and returning students and provide student-centered services from offering campus directions to providing technical assistance.
Wallace State also expanded its holistic support using Title III funds to provide referrals to campus and community resources, to offer tele-mental health services, to collaborate with the Future Foundation to streamline emergency aid, and to provide employees with professional development opportunities.
“Through case management and follow-up, we gain insight into how our efforts impact them,” said Kristen Holmes, vice president for students and chief marketing officer at Wallace State. “Students have said they appreciate the time we spend with them, the resources we connect them to, and the support we provide through our many services.”