Illinois Community College System

Illinois has played a prominent role in the development of the community and junior college movement in the United States.

It was the brain child of William Rainey Harper, president of the University of Chicago, and J. Stanley Brown, the superintendent of Joliet Township High School.

Brown and Harper's innovation was designed to serve students who desired to remain within the community and still pursue a college education.

By December 1902, the board of trustees[ambiguous] officially sanctioned the program and made post-high school courses available tuition-free.

In 1943 the Illinois General Assembly enacted legislation to allow referendums to establish tax rates for both education and building funds to support junior college operations.

This legislation also repealed the prior law which had allowed the board of education in districts with population in excess of 25,000 to establish a junior college by resolution.

In 1961, the General Assembly created the Illinois Board of Higher Education to conduct comprehensive studies on higher education needs; develop information systems; approve new units of instruction, research, or public service in all public colleges and universities; review budgets of public colleges and universities, and make recommendations to the governor and General Assembly; approve capital improvements; conduct surveys and evaluation of higher education; and prepare "a master plan for the development, expansion, integration, coordination, and efficient utilization of the facilities, curricula, and standards of higher education in the areas of teaching, research, and public service."

The act removed the junior colleges from the common school system and placed them under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

School districts operating a junior college without a separate tax could continue to maintain the program as grades 13 and 14.

Illinois community colleges receive funding from three major sources: local property taxes, student tuition and fees, and state appropriations.

[1] The method of calculating the per capita cost is as prescribed in Section 6-2 of the Illinois Community College Act.

Illinois community colleges offer approximately 3,500 associate degrees and certificates in a variety of programs, including: All programs offered within the community college system must be approved by the ICCB and Illinois Board of Higher Education on the basis of need, quality, and cost.