Education organizations recognized in nation’s highest honors for quality

A community system and a technical college center were among the five recipients of the nation’s highest honor for quality, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announcement released this morning.  A third community college system received recognition for establishing and maintaining a best practice in leadership.

The two education institutions were:

The Alamo Colleges District (ACD)
ACD is the largest institution of higher learning in South Texas, serving over 100,000 students enrolled in for-credit, continuing education and workforce courses every year. ACD holds a rare AAA bond rating, based on the strength of its financial policies for managing debt and evolving sources of revenue. Simultaneously, ACD students’ four-year graduation rate has increased 150 percent since 2009, and students have given the institution’s advisor program a 94 percent effectiveness rating.

Tri County Tech (TCT)
One of 29 public technology centers in the Oklahoma Career and Technical Education System, TCT serves the residents of three counties and has a vision of inspiring success through life-changing learning experiences. With a goal that no student should be denied an education due to inability to pay, TCT provides scholarships and funding for student expenses such as medication, gasoline, clothing and food. TCT has sustained top 25 percent national rankings for student completion/retention and placement for eight fiscal years. The institution also increased graduate wages to well above the national average while growing its own revenues 16 percent since 2009 — without federal funding and despite a sizable reduction in state funding.

The announcement also calls out Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland, for recognition for its role-model practices in leadership.

Additional Baldrige winners for outstanding quality achievements for 2018 include a national, nonprofit organ/tissue donation network, an Indiana community/regional hospital system and a private, project management consulting firm headquartered in Chicago.

The Baldrige award is bestowed annually through a rigorous and highly competitive selection process NIST manages in partnership with the private sector.  More than 115 organizations have received awards since the program started in 1987; most winners have been private companies. More information on this year’s winners and applications for the 2019 competition are available here.