Congratulations to the 2021 Leah Meyer Austin award winner Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

The Leah Meyer Austin award is the highest distinction a college in the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Network can earn. ATD bestows this award annually to a college that employs a holistic approach to reducing equity gaps between student groups and increasing success for all. The award recognizes institutional strength, aligned policies and procedures, a student-focused culture, and notable increases in student outcomes.

Colleges eligible to apply for the award are Leader Colleges in good standing, participants in the ATD Network for at least three years, and have not won the award in the last five years. In addition, eligible colleges have met one or more of the following data criteria by showing:

• Four-year improvement in the IPEDS three-year graduation rate of at least three percentage points (first-time full-time students)
• Four-year improvement in the National Student Clearinghouse three-year graduation rate of at least three percentage points (first time ever in college, degree seeking, both full-time and part-time)
• Six-year transfer-out bachelor's degree completion rate at or above the national level
• Selection as one of the top 150 colleges in the competition for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence

Past Leah Meyer Austin Award recipients:

• 2009 - Valencia Community College
• 2010 - Guilford Technical Community College
• 2011 -  El Paso Community College
• 2012 - Zane State College
• 2013 - South Texas College
• 2014 - Bunker Hill Community College and Montgomery County Community College
• 2015 - Patrick Henry Community College and The Community College of Baltimore County
• 2016 - William Rainey Harper College
• 2017 - Miami Dade College and Pierce College District 
• 2018 - Odessa College and Texarkana College
• 2019 - Amarillo College and Columbus State Community College
• 2020 - Alamo Colleges District and Lorain County Community College
• 2021 - Northwest Wisconsin Technical College