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Southwest ranks 19^th in Top 100 poll 

Memphis, TN - Southwest has been ranked 19th in the Top 100 Associate Degree Producers for All Disciplines in the category of Black students in an article titled “Analyzing the Data” from July 16, 2007 edition of Community College Week.  

According to the article, “Community colleges are involved in the business of many things: offering associate-degree programs and one-and two-year certificates, preparing students to transfer to four-year colleges, vocational training, personal enrichment, community engagement, and business development – just to name a few.” The publication highlights the Top 100 postsecondary institutions that contribute to the personal and professional development of millions of students. Categories are broken down by All Disciplines and then into specific areas like Business Management, Criminal Justice, Health Professions, etc. The All Disciplines category is also broken down according to the race of the students. 

The rankings for this year are based on examinations of degrees and certificates awarded during the 2005-2006 academic year. The data was collected by the National Center for Education Statistics through the Completion Survey of their Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Set (IPEDS). Data analysis is limited to Title IV eligible institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The institution must be accredited by either a regional or specialized accreditation agency that is recognized by the U. S. Department of Education. 

“The College is honored to be recognized through this research as a Top 100 producer of Associate Degrees for black students,” states Karen Nippert, Vice President for Institutional Advancement. “It is a major goal of the College to become a college of choice for students in the Mid-South. Recognition such as this lets us know that we are on the right track by providing a quality education to our diverse student population and students across all of the programs offered by the College.”  

The Top 20 colleges listed in the Associate Degrees: All Discipline, Black category were: 

1. Miami Dade College in Florida
2. American Intercontinental University Online in Florida
3. Central Texas College in Texas
4. Broward Community College in Florida
5. CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York
6. Community College of Philadelphia in Philadelphia
7. Wayne County Community College District in Michigan
8. CUNY Kingsborough Community College in New York
9. Prince George’s Community College in Maryland
10. Houston Community College System in Texas
11. Palm Beach Community College in Florida
12. Florida Community College in Florida
13. Keiser College- Ft. Lauderdale in Florida
14. Robert Morris College in Illinois
15. Tallahassee Community College in Florida
16. Tidewater Community College in Virginia
17. ASA Institute of Business and Computer Technology in New York
18. Hinds Community College in Mississippi
19. Southwest Tennessee Community College in Tennessee
20. Montgomery College in Maryland

A link to the Community College Week Web site and the current edition is http://www.ccweek.com/.