El Camino recently qualified for the Aspen Prize which is worth $1 million and only 150 two-year institutions—from 35 states—were chosen, according to Aspen Institute.

According to the Aspen Institute, the following qualifications that help determine nominees for the prize are:

• student success in persistence, completion, and transfer;
• consistent improvement in outcomes over time; and
• equity in outcomes for students of all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

There are three rounds before the final decision is made, but after the first round the group of colleges eligible goes from 150 to 10 finalists.

For now EC is only eligible to apply for the prize and has to turn in the first application by March 4, President Dena Maloney said.

The top 10 finalists will be announced for the opportunity to win the prize later this year in the fall.

Maloney said that the top 10 finalists will get visits to their campus.

“It would demonstrate that we are a leader among other community colleges (if we were to win the prize),” Maloney said.

Students voiced their opinion and some of them said that it’s a good thing EC was nominated for this prize.

“El Camino is definitely a service to our community and to people. Many people who were in jail come here. There are also those straight out of high school who come here,” Philip Henderson, 26, Japanese major, said.

However, not everyone feels the same way.

“I really don’t care. It doesn’t help me or benefit me at all,” Frank Mendoza, 23, music major, said.

It is Maloney’s first year as president of EC and she said that this prize was the first thing she heard about when she got the position.

“Being deemed eligible to apply for this prize is a huge deal and it is a remarkable recognition of the work El Camino College is doing,” Maloney said.

If EC were to win the prize it would be outside validation of how good EC is serving students, Maloney said.

The final decision will be announced in early 2017, according to the Aspen Institute.