Take note of Elgin’s on-campus partners

Brandon Thomas, Managing Editor

Graduating students at Elgin Community College face a lot of tough decisions, because they have to decide if and where they want to continue their higher education in the future. College is expensive, obviously, and sometimes moving to an entirely new part of the country to go to one is just an impossibility for students, whether it be because of family related issues, or financial ones. For students who wish to continue their education but find it impossible to travel far away or live in a dorm somewhere, ECC’s on-campus partners might be the perfect solution.

 

“What’s that?” is probably the question going through most readers heads, as most students are unaware of these opportunities. ECC has four partners on campus: Northern Illinois University, Columbia College of Missouri, Roosevelt University, and Judson University. All of these four universities have office space on campus, and two of them, Northern Illinois and Columbia College of Missouri, offer classes on ECC’s campus for certain majors, with Northern offering a bachelors in Elementary Education entirely on ECC’s campus, and Columbia College of Missouri offering course completion degrees in the areas of Business, Criminal Justice, and some General Studies here on campus, as well as a slew of online programs for a wider variety of degrees.

 

These programs, while not applicable to the situations of all students at ECC, are definitely an option, and most students seem to be unaware that they exist. This was the case for ECC student Justin Morris.

“I think it’s a great thing! I’m stressing out over what the next step is gonna be for me, you know? The days keep coming and coming, and the end is getting closer here at Elgin and since I have a kid, well, I can’t just go and live in a dorm somewhere, and, not saying that I will for sure go to one of these, but i never knew about them, and i’m gonna check em out.” said Morris.

Students who might choose to go through one of these university programs on ECC’s campus are foregoing the traditional dorm life and college experience, for sure, but the trade off for that is not having to pay for room and board, which, as everyone knows, can be expensive.

Students interested in these programs should check with their advisers here at ECC to see if they qualify, and if these programs might be a good fit for them. In addition, a quick google search and a bit of online sleuthing can show prospective applicants what these programs require in terms of GPA and what classes might transfer over from ECC.

Maybe these programs would be a good fit for you, maybe not, but it is a good something to keep in the back of ones mind as their time here at Elgin comes to a close.