Springfield College in Illinois
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Former names
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Springfield Junior College (1929–1967) Springfield College in Illinois (1967–2003) |
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| Type | Private Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1929 |
| Affiliation | Benedictine University |
| Location | Springfield, Illinois   |
| Campus | Suburban, 25 acres |
| Affiliations | Association of Benedictine Colleges and Universities |
| Website | http://www.ben.edu/springfield-campus/ |
Benedictine University at Springfield in Springfield, Illinois is a branch campus of Benedictine University, whose main campus is in Lisle, Illinois. It offers accelerated associate, bachelor’s and graduate programs through the University’s School of Graduate, Adult and Professional Education.
SGAPE offers accelerated undergraduate programs in Management, Criminal Justice, Psychology and Nursing; graduate programs in Reading and Literacy, Business Administration, and Management and Organizational Behavior; English as a Second Language and Bilingual Endorsements; and a Ph.D. in Organization Development.
BenU at Springfield also offers fully online undergraduate certificates in Human Resource Management, Marketing, Digital Marketing for the Working Professional, Advanced Digital Marketing for the Working Professional, and Diversity and Criminology.
On-campus programs meet one night a week; and hybrid/off campus programs have some classes that meet one night a week at off campus locations (including partnership programs that are held at local worksites) and other classes that are offered online.
Programs are specifically designed for adult learners to develop essential problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Benedictine University at Springfield has its roots in the founding of Springfield Junior College (later to become Springfield College in Illinois) in 1929 by the Ursuline Sisters. In 2003, the school faced financial and enrollment challenges and Benedictine undertook steps to support it. First established as a “cooperative venture” with Springfield College in Illinois (SCI), Benedictine’s affiliation with the college soon grew into a “permanent partnership,” as recognized by the Board of Trustees of both institutions in 2004.
From that point forward, the University provided administrative, financial and leadership support to SCI, while also developing the University’s own academic programs offered on the SCI campus. As required by regulatory and accreditation standards for a junior college, the academic programs the University offered in Springfield were “2+2” programs (consisting of the third and fourth years of four-year bachelor’s degree programs), programs leading to master’s degrees, and a doctoral program. However, these standards did not allow Benedictine to offer any full, four-year degree programs in Springfield.
Although SCI continued to offer programs for an associate degree, the financial and enrollment challenges confronting SCI continued to mount. In 2008 and 2009, Benedictine consulted with the regulatory and accreditation agencies to identify the most appropriate means of facilitating the University’s continued growth in Springfield, while also resolving SCI’s difficulties. The solution identified was that Benedictine should establish a branch campus in Springfield, physically located on the SCI campus, and obtain the necessary approvals to offer full, four-year bachelor’s degree programs. The first two years of these four-year programs would supplant the associate degree programs which SCI offered.
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