Illinois Community College System

The Illinois Community College System consists of 39 public community college districts, composed of 48 community colleges and one multi-college center (East St. Louis Community College Center) where 3 of the community colleges offer additional classes. Thirty-seven of the districts have a single college; two districts (City Colleges of Chicago, comprising seven colleges, and Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, comprising four colleges) are multicollege. Since July 1990, the entire state has been included within community college district boundaries.

Illinois has played a prominent role in the development of the community and junior college movement in the United States. Joliet Junior College, established in 1901, was the first public junior college in the nation. It was the brain child of William Rainey Harper, president of the University of Chicago, and J. Stanley Brown, the superintendent of Joliet Township High School. The college's initial enrollment was six students.

Brown and Harper's innovation was designed to serve students who desired to remain within the community and still pursue a college education. Within a few years, the concept had grown to include students outside the existing high school district. By December 1902, the board of trustees officially sanctioned the program and made post-high school courses available tuition-free. In 1916, the post-high school program was formally named "Joliet Junior College." The next year, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accredited the college, and the State Examining Board approved selected courses for teacher certification. Enrollment at the time numbered 82 students.

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