September 29, 2021
Media advisory: SIU Carbondale, 3 Chicagoland community colleges to improve access for students
CHICAGO — Southern Illinois University Carbondale administrators will be Chicago Oct. 4-5 to sign agreements with three Chicagoland community colleges to bring the expertise of a doctoral research university to place-bound students. Reporters, photographers and news crews are invited to cover any and all ceremonies.
These signings come a week after the statewide announcement of Saluki Step Ahead, which provides qualified community college students the option to earn their bachelor’s degrees remotely and at a lower cost in six academic programs: accounting, business administration, health care management, radiologic sciences, criminology and criminal justice, and psychology.
Following graduation with an associate degree from the community college, students can go on to complete their SIU bachelor’s degrees online without leaving their hometowns. Students in the program 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 degree for $25,000 or less. For more about Saluki Step Ahead, read the press release.
The schedule is:
- 2:30 p.m. Oct. 4, Harold Washington College, part of City Colleges of Chicago, 30 E. Lake St. in Chicago, equity in accounting, renewal of Star Scholars
- 8:30 a.m. Oct. 5, Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine, Illinois, Saluki Step Ahead, University Center agreement
- 2:30 p.m. Oct. 5, Oakton Community College, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines, Illinois, Student Center, Saluki Step Ahead and guaranteed admissions agreement
If you are interested in covering any of the ceremonies or interviewing SIU Chancellor Austin Lane on Wednesday, Oct. 6, contact Kim Rendfeld, SIU’s chief communications officer, by 4:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at kim.rendfeld@siu.edu or 765-426-3650 (cell).