Chancellor Austin Lane (left) and Shawnee Community College President Tim Taylor sign a Saluki Step Ahead agreement on Sept. 17. The agreement gives qualified community college students the option to earn their bachelor’s degree online while still living at home. (Photo courtesy of SCC)
September 17, 2021
Shawnee Community College, SIU leaders sign Saluki Step Ahead agreement offering new opportunities for students
ULLIN, Ill. — Shawnee Community College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale formalized a historic agreement today, Sept. 17, providing a more seamless entry into several SIU online programs.
The agreement, called Saluki Step Ahead, offers SCC students who have entered into the agreement with SIU to receive automatic admission to SIU’s online accounting, business and administration, criminology and criminal justice, psychology, health care management and radiologic sciences programs.
SIU recently signed a Saluki Step Ahead agreement with the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), which represents all the 48 community colleges, to provide qualified community college students who are place-bound the option to earn their bachelor’s degrees remotely and at a lower cost. SCC is the first college to partner with SIU, and the university is in discussions with several other community colleges throughout the state regarding similar partnerships.
Following graduation with an associate degree from the community college, students can go on to complete their SIU bachelor’s degrees online while still living in their hometowns. They pay the community college rate for their first two years. In the third and fourth years, they receive an annual $4,000 scholarship. The goal is to allow them to earn their degrees for $25,000 or less.