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Community colleges have younger students, more business collaboration
By Phyllis Coulter
pcoulter@pantagraph.com
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NORMAL - The average age of community college students is going down, and the amount of collaboration between those schools and businesses is going up.

These are two trends officials at community colleges say they have in common.

Following is a look at six such trends reported by Heartland Community College, Normal; Illinois Central College, East Peoria; Illinois Valley Community College, Oglesby; Parkland College, Champaign; and Richland Community College in Decatur.

Average age going down

The average age of community college students has dropped from about 29 to 27 in recent years. Heartland's average age was 29 in 1991 and is closer to 26 today. It's a reflection of the increasing number of traditional students going straight from high school into community college, said Heartland President Jon Astroth.

Learning online

The number of online offerings for students continues to grow.

"Parkland College is the second-largest provider of online courses in Illinois among not-for-profit colleges. Parkland enrolled 3,256 students in Internet classes during the fall 2006 term," said Jody Littleton, Parkland's executive director of community relations.

Off-campus housing

Florida and Illinois are the only states where community colleges are prohibited from providing student housing.

"We'd like to see that change," said Illinois Central College President John Erwin. He would like more choices for students who may want to live closer to a college.

Private developers have stepped in. Apartment buildings have sprung up along Raab Road in Normal near Heartland, for example.

More globalization

Community colleges are feeling the effects of global markets, mass communication and international connections.

Both Heartland and ICC, for example, have exchange programs with schools in China.

Business partnerships

Community colleges are seeing more and more connections with private businesses. HCC's Workforce Development Center, expected to open in August, includes collaboration with State Farm Insurance Cos., Mitsubishi Motors North America, Caterpillar Inc., Country Insurance & and Financial Services and Verizon in Normal.

"There's a strong alliance with businesses," said Erwin, whose own campus has a vocation center tied to Caterpillar.

Richland President Gayle Saunders sees such partnerships as a way to keep costs down for students and taxpayers while providing work-force training.

Outreach

Community colleges will continue to reach into high schools, offering classes for students before they graduate. While there is more effort to serve honors students, officials say they won't forget about students who don't yet have required skills for higher education.

"Community colleges will reach into the last year of high school particularly to ensure college readiness for all students; will continue to scan the community for curriculum development knowledge; and will continue to develop partnerships that will add value to the learning opportunities of students in the future," Saunders said.

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Reader comments on this story - 1 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

V wrote on Mar 26, 2007 11:35 AM:

" Here is the "lie" about college credit courses. They walk into the schools offering an alternative to studnts who might be best served by the Community College setting, yet they limit the students to, as the article suggests "honor students" who may (or more likely) may not be attending the Junior College. for the record, a Heartland class will not transfer to many private schools and schools of higher educational standards. Why not reach out to the Non-honor program students in the local high schools? When Heartland approaches the local high schools, they need to be more honest. "
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