Saluki Step Ahead Partners: Southern Illinois University Carbondale staff (from left) Wendell Williams, Assistant Chancellor for Enrollment Management; Chancellor Austin A. Lane, Student Admissions Director Amanda Everett, and Assistant Transfer Relations Director Josi Rawls celebrate the signing of a Saluki Step Ahead Agreement with Lake Land College. In the bottom photo are Lake Land College President Josh Bullock (center), Heather Nohren, Director of Counseling and Legal Services (left), and Ikemefuna Nwosu, Vice President of Academic Services. (SIU photo provided by Russell Bailey, bottom photo)
February 01, 2023
SIU Carbondale signs agreement to improve access for Lake Land College
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University Carbondale today (Feb. 1) increased its commitment to central Illinois students with an agreement to make the expertise of a doctoral research university available to qualified community college students by offering the opportunity to earn their Earn bachelor’s degree remotely and at lower cost in 10 academic programs.
SIU Chancellor Austin A. Lane and Lake Land College President Josh Bullock signed an agreement for the Saluki Step Ahead program. Established in 2021, the program allows students who have earned an associate degree from partner community colleges to complete their SIU bachelor’s degrees online in Accounting, Business Administration, Criminology & Criminal Justice, Early Childhood, Elementary Education, Health Management, History, Nursing ( RN to BSN), Psychology and Radiology.
“We are excited to partner with Lake Land College to offer another option for resident students in this region,” said Lane. “If these students cannot come to Carbondale to complete their education, we will provide them with the experience and resources of a doctoral university.”
Lane added that this Saluki Step Ahead agreement fits well with the university’s strategic plan, Imagine 2030, and its pillars of student success and partnerships.
The new Lake Land College Agreement brings SIU Carbondale to a total of 31 Saluki Step Ahead Pacts the university has to date with community colleges in Illinois, Missouri and Texas.
“This new partnership with Southern Illinois University is a great example of our strategic plan to strengthen and expand delivery pathways that provide new and flexible ways for residents to achieve their educational goals,” said Josh Bullock, President of Lake Land College. “The Saluki Step Ahead program offers Lake Land alumni a high-quality, accessible opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in high-demand programs that will lead to high-demand careers.”
Founded in Mattoon in 1966, Lake Land serves nearly 15,000 students annually through transfer-ready, job-ready, and non-credit continuing education programs. Lake Land serves a nearly 4,000 square mile district that includes 53 communities and 31 public school districts. Lake Land also has counseling centers in Effingham, Marshall and Pana and provides educational programs to 23 adult correctional facilities and two juvenile centers statewide. Named one of the top 150 community colleges in the country five times by the Aspen Institute, Lake Land provides students with all-round success services and more than 150 majors that prepare them to transition or enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.
Students in the Saluki Step Ahead program pay the community college rate for the first two years. In the third and fourth years, they receive an annual stipend of $4,000. For more information on Saluki Step Ahead, see the press release announcing the initiative.
