SPSCC Wins EAB’s Return on Education Award

On Nov. 8, 2022, education company EAB named South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) as the winner of its Student Success Collaborative – Return on Education Award.

The Return on Education Award recognizes an institution that has seen significant and measurable results from its efforts to help students persist, graduate, and thrive. Awardees are chosen from among the colleges, universities, and individuals that use EAB’s student success platforms Navigate and Starfish. SPSCC has seen equity-centered change using technologies like Starfish—known as Compass at SPSCC—reflected in the college’s growth in retention from 53.8% in 2013 to 64% today.

“Students, faculty, and campus staff have become savvier with respect to combining both online and in-person student support services,” said EAB President of Technology, Scott Schirmeier. “The winners of EAB’s 2022 Student Success Collaborative Awards are leading the way in rethinking the student support model and using technology in creative ways to keep students on track to graduate.”

“This is well-deserved recognition of our incredible student services and IT teams and their dedication to our student’s success,” said Dr. Timothy Stokes, President of SPSCC.

The award was presented at CONNECTED22, a three-day gathering of thousands of student success leaders from progressive community colleges as well as four-year colleges and universities.

About SPSCC

SPSCC combines small class sizes, world-class faculty and staff, and modern facilities to complete our mission of amplifying student success.

Each year, SPSCC serves more than 6,000 students across many goals and Pathways, including degree-seeking students, high schoolers, veterans, international students, and underemployed workers. We see thousands of students each year land a new job, learn a new skill, earn a degree, and pursue exciting opportunities from our campuses in Olympia and Lacey and classes in Yelm and online.

Our core themes of student achievement, equity, and learning and engagement are the heart of the work completed by our departments and faculty, and we have been serving the city of Olympia and its surrounding communities for more than sixty years.

About EAB

EAB’s mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. They work with more than 2,500 institutions to drive transformative change through data-driven insights and best-in-class capabilities. From kindergarten to college to career, EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across five major areas: enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data & analytics, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). EAB works with each partner differently, tailoring our portfolio of research, technology, and marketing and enrollment solutions to meet the unique needs of every leadership team, as well as the students and employees they serve. Learn more at eab.com.

*This release was written by EAB with contributions from SPSCC staff.