(WSIL) -- A new agreement between Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is bringing the education of a 4-year research university to place-bound students in community colleges throughout Illinois.
The Saluki Step Ahead program provides qualified community college students the option to earn their bachelor鈥檚 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.聽
鈥淭his is a game-changer and provides a valuable option to working adults and other students with limited pathways,鈥� said SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane. 鈥淢any community college students can鈥檛 uproot their lives and come to Carbondale to earn their bachelor鈥檚 degrees. We鈥檙e taking SIU Carbondale to them in an accessible and affordable way. Students want our brand of degree. They prefer to take classes from SIU Carbondale.鈥澛�
Following graduation with an associate degree from an Illinois community college, qualifying students can immediately advance to complete their bachelor鈥檚 degree online from SIU Carbondale without leaving home.聽聽
Through Saluki Step Ahead, students pay the community college rate for their first two years of study with SIU Carbondale.聽In the third and fourth years, they receive an annual $4,000 scholarship, significantly reducing the financial barriers to earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree.聽
鈥淚llinois community colleges are always looking for ways to increase access and affordability for its students and the Saluki Step Ahead partnership does both.聽This program allows students to immediately accelerate their education with guaranteed and seamless transfer of courses to an established four-year institution at a fraction of the cost. It also gives them tremendous flexibility by allowing them to complete their bachelor's degree at home while maintaining other life responsibilities,鈥� said ICCB executive director Brian Durham.聽
Illinois has the third-largest Community College System in the nation with 48 colleges throughout the state. Community colleges serve more than 600,000 Illinois residents each year in credit and noncredit courses and many more through their public service programs.聽
The statewide agreement between SIU Carbondale and ICCB allows individual community colleges to seamlessly join the Saluki Step Ahead program, including聽
The university is in discussions with several other community colleges throughout the state regarding similar partnerships.聽
