2018 Leah Meyer Austin Award – Odessa College

Odessa College is the winner of the 2018 Leah Meyer Austin Award. The college is being recognized for significant innovations that have resulted in critical progress in metrics such as decreasing course drop rates, increasing student persistence, and increasing degree completion. The college increased, and nearly doubled, its three-year graduation rate for all students. In addition, the college increased, more than doubling, the graduation rate for Hispanic students, the college’s largest demographic group. For White students, the college’s second largest demographic group, the graduation rate increased, but not quite doubled, during the same time period. Now, with Hispanic students graduating at a higher rate than white students, the college has closed their equity gap.