Highland Community College (Illinois)

Highland Community College ("HCC" or Highland) is a public two-year community college

Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

. Its main campus is located in Freeport

Freeport, Illinois

Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. The college is recognized by the Illinois Community College Board, and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and a member of the North Central Association.

History

Highland was first established in 1962 on the land purchased from the Taft family. The Highland Community college foundation was the first community college

Community college

foundation established in the State of Illinois and only the second in the nation. The foundation was established by Dr. Howard D. Sims, president of Highland Community College from 1975 to 1980.

Timeline

1955 State survey completed by the University of Illinois showed Freeport
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

was a logical location for a junior college. A legal requirement in preparation for a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

was safisfied.

1957-1959 State legislation passed allowing public junior colleges to charge tuition.

1959 Public defeated a referendum that would have included space for the college in the remodeled high school.

1961 Referendum passed by a 3-1 margin calling for the establishment of a comprehensive community college.

1962 229 students began evening classes held at the Freeport Senior High School.

1964 $150,000 was raised for the Acres of Education campaign to purchase the Taft farm land.

1966 Referendum held in 15 districts established an area college district. Facilities were rented and classes were held on Stephenson, Main, Locust, and West Ave. The first board was elected.

1967 District 519 was officially established. Ken Borland was hired as the first president. A contact was held to name the college. "Highland" was chosen over another entry "Farmers' Cash Crop College".

1968 Voters approved a plan for the current campus.

1970 Five temporary buildings were occupied on the permanent campus.

1971 The first permanent facilities were occupied on the current campus.

1973 Foundation approves $45,000 grant to the college for the Festival of Arts.

1976 Phase III of HCC building program approved. Work began on the physical fitness education facility to be used jointly by HCC and the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

.

Main Campus

Highland is located in Freeport

Freeport, Illinois

Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...

, Illinois

Illinois

on 140 acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s (or 346 ha

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

). There are seven buildings on the campus, which are mainly used for classes. The college's sports complex is also the local YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

, to which Highland's students carrying more than six credit hours per semester receive a free membership.

HCC West

Highland Community College has a campus in Elizabeth

Elizabeth, Illinois

Elizabeth is a village in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 761 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Elizabeth is located at ....

, Illinois

Illinois

. On Route 20

U.S. Route 20

U.S. Route 20 is an east–west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, US 20 is a coast-to-coast route. Spanning , it is the longest road in the United States, and the route sparsely parallels Interstate 90...

, Highland West offers a great opportunity to residents of Jo Daviess county

Jo Daviess County, Illinois

Jo Daviess County is a county located in the northwest corner of U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 22,678, which is an increase of 1.7% from 22,289 in 2000. Its county seat is Galena....

to easily commute to classes. Several classes can also be taken in Savanna

Savanna, Illinois

Savanna is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,062 at the 2010 census, down from 3,542 at the 2000 census. Savanna is located along the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Plum River. Going from north to south, the second automobile bridge between Iowa and...

, Illinois

Illinois

. Currently, the off-site campuses mainly offer general education courses. In 2007, the Elizabeth campus started offering a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) course.

Academics

Highland offers the Associates degree to its students. After about 60 college-level credit hours have been completed, students can pursue either an Associate of Science or Associate of Arts degree. Other non-degree seeking students may complete a certification in one of the many vocational skills. A wide variety of majors and vocational programs are offered. Highland's Nursing Program is especially worth mentioning for its excellence and night program, which is popular among students who have jobs during the daytime. Nursing students may choose to graduate with their RN

Registered nurse

A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...

(a two-year program) or LPN

Licensed Practical Nurse

Licensed practical nurse is the term used in much of the United States and most Canadian provinces to refer to a nurse who cares for "people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled under the direction of registered nurses and physicians. The term licensed vocational nurses is used in...

(one-year program). In recent years, nursing students have completed the NCLEX-RN board exam with a 99% or above pass rate.

Athletics

Highland Community College is most famous for its basketball program, which is in the top 10 among the nation's junior colleges. The Highland Cougars Basketball team is a member of the NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships it usually consists of 16 invited teams...

. The following sports are played on campus:

Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
Men's Basketball
Women's Basketball
Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

Altogether five Highland student-athletes have been named Academic All Americans, and 11 have been named All Americans by the NJCAA.

Tuition and Fees

Highland Community College has the lowest tuition in the tri-state area. On its website, it is stated that "You will spend about $3,200 a year for tuition, books and fees when you start at Highland... or you can go somewhere else and pay at least $7,000 a year for tuition alone." This affordability has attracted many students from the Illinois-Iowa-Wisconsin Tri-State area

Tri-state area

There are a number of areas in the 48 contiguous United States known as tri-state areas where three states either meet at one point or are in proximity to each other. The best known of the latter type is the New York metropolitan area...

Students and Faculty

The college is home to about 6,000 students and 190 faculty members, most of which are full-time. Highland is technologically advanced, and it is one of the pioneers in Distance Learning Program, in which a partnership between the college and Sauk Valley Community College

Sauk Valley Community College

Sauk Valley Community College is a community college in Dixon, Illinois. Whilst technically in Dixon it is closer to the city limits of Sterling, Illinois.SVCC was built on the Rock River between the cities of Sterling and Dixon, Illinois...

exists.

Clubs and Organizations

Highland has a big variety of interesting clubs and organizations. Some of the most active ones include:

Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa, also ΦΘΚ or sometimes PTK , is the international honor society of two-year colleges and academic programs, particularly community colleges and junior colleges. It also includes Associate's degree-granting programs offered by four-year colleges...

Honor Society Nu Mu Chapter
Student Senate
History Club
Current Events Club
Dairy & Livestock Judging Teams
Cattle judging
Cattle judging is the process of judging a series of cattle and pronouncing a first, second and third place animal based on each animal's individual traits compared to that of the others. Most cattle judging occurs in show rings at agricultural shows....
Physical Science Club
International Club
The Chronicle Student Newspaper
Forensics
Royal Scots
Fellowship

H.C. Mitchell Library

The H.C. Mitchell library is located on campus in Building M. The library has recently (Summer 2007) become involved in the PrairieCat program, which is a cooperation of 130 libraries in Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois.-Economics:Northern Illinois is dominated by the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Rockford, and the Quad Cities, which contain a majority of Illinois' population and economic activity, including...

and Eastern Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

. This allows the student body and local residents to search over millions of books, videos, and other archives.

External links

Illinois°N date=December 2010°W

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Timeline

Main Campus

HCC West

Academics

Athletics

Tuition and Fees

Students and Faculty

Clubs and Organizations

H.C. Mitchell Library

See also

External links