Saluki Step Ahead partnership: Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor Austin A. Lane holds a Saluki Step Ahead agreement with Sauk Valley Community College. In the bottom photo, Jon Mandrell, Sauk Valley Community College vice president of academics and student services looks on as David Hellmich, college president, signs the agreement. (SIU photo by Russell Bailey, bottom photo provided)
April 27, 2023
SIU Carbondale inks agreement to improve access for Sauk Valley CC students
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale strengthened its commitment to students in northwest Illinois on April 26 with an agreement to bring the expertise of a doctoral research university to qualified community college students by providing the option to earn their bachelor’s degrees remotely and at a lower cost in 12 academic programs.
SIU Chancellor Austin A. Lane and Sauk Valley Community College President David Hellmich signed an agreement for the Saluki Step Ahead program. Established in 2021, the program enables students who graduate with an associate degree from partnering community colleges to complete their SIU bachelor’s degrees online in accounting, business administration, criminology and criminal justice, early childhood, elementary education, health care management, history, industrial management and applied engineering, information technology, nursing (RN to BSN), psychology and radiologic sciences.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Sauk Valley Community College to provide another option for place-bound students in this region,” Lane said. “If these students cannot come to Carbondale to complete their education, we will bring the experience and resources of a doctoral research university to them.”
Lane added this Saluki Step Ahead agreement fits well with the university’s strategic plan, Imagine 2030, and its pillars of student success and partnerships.
Established in 1965, Sauk Valley Community College serves approximately 2,000 students annually on campus in six counties in northwest Illinois, including its local K-12 districts, online offerings and throughout its industry base. The college’s offerings include 52 associate degrees and 29 certificates. The college serves Lee, Whiteside, Ogle, Bureau, Carroll and Henry counties.
“Southern Illinois is a superb university, and this partnership is another wonderful example of our institutions working together,” Hellmich said. “Saluki Step Ahead is all about affordability and accessibility. SVCC graduates in transfer programs will be able to apply to SIU early, secure a spot in their degree track and complete a bachelor’s degree – all online, if they prefer – at a low cost.”
The Sauk Valley Community College agreement brings SIU Carbondale to a total of 44 Saluki Step Ahead pacts that the university has with community colleges in Illinois, Missouri and Texas so far.
Students in the Saluki Step Ahead program pay the community college rate for their first two years. In the third and fourth years, they receive an annual $4,000 scholarship. For more about Saluki Step Ahead, read the press release announcing the initiative.