over 15,000 students each semester. Each year we serve approximately 30,000 people in our non-credit programs to explore areas of interest or to update their skills.
“The majority of students in credit-bearing classes are students working to complete their first two years in order to transfer to another college or university to earn a bachelor’s degree. They transfer from the College of Lake County to other institutions, primarily the colleges and universities in the state of Illinois. Our research shows our students, after they have transferred, tend to perform as well or better than those students who were native to the institution.
“The brochure that you received this morning lists just a few of the institutions that have accepted our graduates for further study. Also approximately thirty-seven percent of our students enroll in career programs, which positions them to enter the workforce. Many of these students are enrolled in health programs such as nursing, medical imaging, dental hygiene, or health information technology. These programs, while costly to operate, are costly because of the high cost of equipment and the low faculty-student ratio required by the credentialing agency, but they are essential to our community. Most of the graduates of these programs stay and work in Lake County once they have completed their studies. The largest of our health programs, our nursing program, recently completed its accreditation from the National League for Nursing, a visit which resulted in commendations for the quality of our facilities, the experience and quality of our faculty, the leadership of the director, and a findings of ‘No Patterns of Concern.’
“That is why CLC nursing graduates have consistently obtained a pass rate of over ninety percent, a rate that is frequently one hundred percent pass, on the National Council Licensure Exam for Nursing. It is why ninety-three to one hundred percent of our graduates have been offered jobs prior to graduation. When they leave this institution, when they graduate, they know where they will be employed. And it’s why almost seventy-five percent of the clinical sites in Lake County have our nursing graduates.
“I know that is why when we surveyed Lake County employers, they indicated that our graduates meet or exceed their peers on forty different competencies, including professional behaviors, clinical decision-making, critical thinking, and medical knowledge. This is a real tribute to our nursing program.
“In addition to our important health career programs, we assist students in developing skills in areas such as computer-aided design, drafting technologies, graphics, animation and presentation, mechanical, architectural, and civil engineering, Cisco networking, various programming areas, micro-computer applications, PC/LAN support, and other programs that prepare students for criminal justice work, jobs as library assistants, human service positions, business management, and administrative office positions.
“Today we are asking you to approve our Paraprofessional Educator Associate in Applied Science Degree Program so that we can expand our role in working with teacher’s aides, and to meet the new requirements of No Child Left Behind.
“Another important role we play is with workforce development in regards to our services to business and industry. We provide an array of services, from assistance to small business start-ups and helping businesses be competitive in securing government contracts, to work with our businesses in terms of customized training partnerships, and aligning those customized training partnerships with specific organizational needs of the business. Our business and industry training team works with corporations or businesses to conduct in-depth needs assessment, deliver training, and follow-up by providing coaching and consulting services. A true partnership is formed to assist in assuring that the company’s employees have the skills to
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