Awards and Membership

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. The MFS list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and spouses as students ensure their success on campus. The MFS media and website, found at www.militaryfriendly.com, feature the list, interactive tools and search functionality to help military students find the best school to suit their unique needs and preferences.

NISOD is a membership organization committed to promoting and celebrating excellence in teaching, learning, and leadership at community and technical colleges. NISOD provides budget-friendly, high-quality, and faculty-focused programs and resources for community and technical colleges that want to make the most of their professional development dollars. For over 40 years, NISOD has aligned a wide array of benefits with the needs of our members, which explains why the American Association of Community Colleges named NISOD, “The country’s leading provider of professional development for community college faculty, staff, and administrators.”

Achieving the Dream—the national, nonprofit leader in championing evidence-based institutional improvement—has seen firsthand what happens when there is a long-term, sustainable commitment to improving student success. Achievement gaps close. Momentum builds. Lives change. Neighborhoods flourish. Student success means so much more than a personal goal secured – It means improved skills, better employability, and economic growth for families, communities and our nation as a whole.  Conceived as an initiative in 2004 by Lumina Foundation and seven founding partner organizations, Achieving the Dream now leads the most comprehensive non-governmental reform movement for student success in higher education history. Together with our Network of over 300 institutions of higher education, 75 coaches and advisors, and numerous investors and partners working throughout 45 states and the District of Columbia we are helping more than 4 million community college students have a better chance of realizing greater economic opportunity and achieving their dreams.

The National Council for Marketing & Public Relations is the only organization of its kind that exclusively represents marketing and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges. As one of the fastest-growing affiliates of the American Association of Community Colleges, NCMPR has more than 1,500 members from nearly 550 colleges across the United States and Canada.  NCMPR is governed by a 14-member board of directors. All of them are community college marketing professionals just like you who volunteer their time and expertise to deliver responsive member services and advance the interests of the organization.

The Collaborative for Higher Education Shared Services, or CHESS, is a nonprofit that employs a unique approach to transform the student experience and streamline administrative operations. The partners are Clovis Community College, Central New Mexico Community College, Luna Community College, Northern New Mexico College, San Juan College, and Santa Fe Community College. The solution will align key business processes and systems using a more efficient, more secure, and fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning system as the foundation. The college presidents serve on the CHESS Board of Directors to manage the needs of the diverse group and to ensure a true collaboration among all colleges in the decision-making process.  Enterprise Resource Planning is an integrated suite of software applications with a central database using the same platform to strategically share resources and information, such as accounting, student records, financial aid, etc., among the partner colleges to better serve students and their communities.  For more information, visit https://www.chess.edu/

The League of Innovation in the Community College is an international nonprofit organization with a mission to cultivate innovation in the community college environment.  The League serves a catalyst for introducing and sustaining deep, transformational innovation within and across colleges and international borders to increase student success and institutional excellence.  For more information, visit https://www.league.org/

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) is a nonprofit organization that helps expand students’ access to educational opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs. Recognizing the growing demand for distance education opportunities, higher education stakeholders – including state regulators and education leaders, accreditors, the U.S. Department of Education, and institutions – joined together in 2013 to establish the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA), which streamline regulations around distance education programs.

New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium (NMNEC) is a consortium of nursing education programs, organizations, and individuals throughout the state.  They have a commitment to build multiple pathways into nursing education including the implementation of a common statewide curriculum and increasing BSN education.  Collaborative partnerships between public and tribal-funded New Mexico nursing programs builds a culture of communication, support, and unified decision-making that facilitates the ability of nursing programs to prepare a qualified, diverse, and professional nursing workforce to address the healthcare needs of New Mexicans.