|
 SIU
Chancellor Austin A. Lane and Heartland President Keith Cornille
signed an agreement for the Saluki Step Ahead program. Established
in 2021, the program enables students who graduate with an associate
degree from partnering community colleges to complete their SIU
bachelor’s degrees online.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Heartland Community College to
provide another option for place-bound students in this region,”
Lane said. “If these students cannot come to Carbondale to complete
their education, we will bring the experience and resources of a
doctoral research university to them.”
Lane added this Saluki Step Ahead agreement fits well with the
university’s strategic plan, Imagine 2030, and its pillars of
student success and partnerships.
The admissions agreement allows a variety of students with diverse
interests to continue their education at SIU, with HCC’s Associate
in Arts and Science degree encompassing twelve fields of study
spanning the humanities, sciences, business, and more.
Heartland Community College
President Keith Cornille
“Strong partnerships are key to the mission of
serving our students, and working with SIU, we have expanded the
options Heartland students have to pursue their academic goals,”
said Heartland Community College President Keith Cornille.
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“This partnership will expand and
strengthen our transfer pathways and gives Heartland students
another accessible option to earn a bachelor’s degree in several
high-demand programs. By offering this remote learning option
Heartland transfer students can continue their pursuit of a
bachelor’s degree without having to relocate outside our
community.” The Saluki Step
Ahead online study program offers bachelor’s degrees in accounting,
business and administration, criminology and criminal justice, early
childhood, elementary education, health care management, history,
information technology, industrial management and applied
engineering, nursing (RN to BSN), psychology and radiologic
sciences.
“Any time we can provide easy transfer options for our students it
is a benefit,” said Lindsay Eickhorst, Dean of Enrollment Services
at HCC. “The Saluki Step Ahead program not only adds to our other
traditional transfer agreements but adds a unique level of cost
savings for students who choose online study to complete a
bachelor’s degree.”
Students in the Saluki Step Ahead program pay the community college
rate for their first two years. In the third and fourth years, the
student will receive an annual $4,000 scholarship as long as the
student remains full-time time in good academic standing.
[Steve Fast
Assistant to the President, Public Information and Communication
Heartland Community College] |
