Postsecondary Success Recognition Program

Reimagining higher education means recognizing institutions that set a new standard of excellence by supporting all students to complete affordable credentials of value that prepare them well to participate in the workforce, their communities, and our democracy. To that end, the Department has developed a new, national recognition program based on input from the field.

For the inaugural year of this new recognition program, the Department identified 200 institutions as initially eligible to apply for the recognition – 100 predominantly bachelor’s-granting institutions and 100 predominantly associate or certificate-granting institutions. The application gathered quantitative data and qualitative information about how institutions use data and evidence-based practices as part of an intentional, campus-wide strategy to ensure all students are earning credentials of value, including underrepresented students. The Department selected a panel of 50 peer reviewers to score applications and the top 20 institutions from the application round then participated in a scored interview round conducted by a research firm. The top 6 institutions from the interview round were named as the winners of the inaugural year of the recognition program.

The 2025 Postsecondary Success Recognition Program winners among predominantly associate degree or certificate granting institutions are:

• Miami Dade College
• Salish Kootenai College
• CUNY Hostos Community College

The 2025 Postsecondary Success Recognition Program winners among predominantly bachelor’s degree granting institutions are: 

• University of South Carolina – Upstate 
• San Jose State University
• University of Texas at Arlington

The Department also awarded a special trailblazer award to Georgia State University in recognition of their work to support over 100 colleges and universities nationwide to their improve outcomes through the National Institute for Student Success (NISS).

For more information about this year’s winners, please see the press release: ADD ONCE AVAILABLE. For questions about the program please contact  PSRecognitionProgram@ed.gov..