For Immediate Release

Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: July 7, 2025

Aspen Prize ignites endowment growth

New scholarship model targets students’ financial needs

Fennimore -

The recent Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence awarded to Southwest Wisconsin Technical College comes with a $700,000 gift. The money is being earmarked for the college’s Student Success Plan Endowment, operated by the Southwest Tech Foundation. Interest generated from the endowment will be used to fund scholarships and is expected to make a tremendous impact on the lives of students. “We will be able to help more students access more funds for education,” said Holly Clendenen, chief student services officer at Southwest Tech. “As the endowment increases, we expect the number of students to benefit to increase.”

In order to maximize the impact on students, the Southwest Tech Foundation has started a matching grant program, in hopes of doubling the prize award to $1.4 million. “This is a truly transformational program,” said Dennis Cooley, executive director of advancement at Southwest Tech. “We are proving that it changes lives and builds on our culture of achievement.”

“This work matters,” stated Josh Wyner, founder and executive director of the College Excellence Program at the Aspen Institute. “Community colleges educate over six million students – about 40 percent of our nation’s undergraduates – including much larger shares of lower-income and diverse students than any other sectors of higher education. These students depend on community colleges to increase their chances of securing well-paid jobs, fulfilling careers, and a better life for themselves and their families.”

Recently, the college implemented a new scholarship model, which grants scholarships to students based on financial need as identified in their individual student success plans. “The non-restricted funds are so helpful because we have students who don’t necessarily fall into any other category that they would meet the qualifications for that scholarship, but they really need the funding,” said CoraBeth Schmitz, student financial assistance manager at Southwest Tech.

“I think the greatest impact will be over the long term because we are endowing it and it will help students every single year,” said Clendenen. “With our new approach to awarding scholarships based on the financial gaps that students have we can really prioritize using the funding for students who need the most financial support.”

The money will be professionally invested, and a percentage of the earnings will be used to fund scholarships. “We will be able to support students and their financial gaps in perpetuity,” said Clendenen.

Funds from the endowment should be available for disbursement starting in the fall of 2026.

Not only will these funds be used to assist incoming students, they will also be beneficial in helping students stay in college. “We know students’ financial situations change when they are in college,” said Clendenen. “By increasing our Student Success Plan Endowment we will be able to help, not only students coming in, but also those continuing students who might have financial challenges come up that could keep them from completing. We intend to use this money to not only help students get started, but also finish.”

Many times, one financial emergency can derail a student’s path to completion. “We want to make sure students have small victories on the way to the finish line,” said Schmitz.

The endowment was in place prior to the Aspen Award. “Thank you to our donors who have already supported the endowment,” said Clendenen. “Using the Aspen Prize gift money to enhance the endowment really shows the college’s commitment to this work and how much we believe the student success plans will have an impact on our students.”

Most students enrolled to Southwest Tech are required to complete a student success plan with the assistance of college staff. Those plans include a financial budget. “We build a budget for each student to see what each semester looks like,” said Schmitz. “That budget will include tuition, fees, housing, and any other expenses. We also look at life expenses such as rent, mortgage, utilities, car payments, childcare, and more. That is compared to any income the students are earning, which shows any financial gap.”

According to Schmitz, 840 financial plans have been completed, and of those, 554 students (66 percent) have a financial gap. “I think for many of our students, finances are a huge concern, especially as we look at our non-traditional students who may be coming back to college or coming to college for the first time,” said Schmitz. “They have a job. They have a family. And, it’s a big decision. Sometimes coming back to college means a reduction in income, so finding ways to help those students, not only cover tuition and fees, but help with their outside expenses, that way they can get through school and get that credential and get a high-wage job after graduation. It’s huge.”

Each student success plan is a working document, with multiple touch point opportunities for the student with college officials during their academic career.

To be considered for scholarships for the upcoming academic year, all students must complete a student success plan. “With the support of the Aspen Award, we will be able to allocate additional scholarship funding to students facing financial gaps,” said Kim Govier, assistant controller/foundation accountant at Southwest Tech. “This funding will help close those gaps, allowing more students to stay on track academically and graduate on time. The award will provide students with a stronger financial outlook, ultimately supporting their success and reducing financial barriers to completion.”

Scholarship awards will be distributed at several points throughout the year. Notifications will be sent to the Southwest Tech student’s email.

• August 2025
• October 2025
• February 2026
• March 2026
• May 2026

According to Cooley, the college is taking a long-term view for scholarship investing. “What we are really excited about is the commitment to endowments,” said Cooley. “It is something that the college has made a priority. It’s another thing that separates us from a lot of colleges.”

The Student Success Plan Endowment scholarships started with a commitment to Boscobel High School through the James and Grace Thiele Scholarship. As a STEP scholarship recipient, eligible students who complete 15 program credits earn a $500 scholarship to help with the following semester’s costs. Once they earn 30 credits, that amount increases to $1,000 and after earning 45 program credits they receive a $1,500 scholarship. “In the last four years, we found that Boscobel High School students were retained at 10.2 percent higher rate and graduated at nine percent higher than previous cohorts from the high school,” said Cooley. “That is pretty amazing. We are on to something incredible here.”

Anyone interested in donating, can visit www.swtc.edu/foundation. Click “Donate Now.”

About the Aspen Prize

The Aspen Prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s signature recognition for America’s community colleges ­– one former U.S. president called it, “basically the Oscars for great community colleges.” The award recognizes excellent community colleges that achieve high and improving levels of student success in several areas, including teaching and learning; certificate and degree completion; transfer and bachelor’s attainment; workforce success; and college and program access.

The Aspen Prize was made possible by Ascendium, J.P. Morgan, The Joyce Foundation, and The Kresge Foundation.

| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college was recently named the winner of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |