Lake Land College A visitor to the Lake Land campus immediately senses the special nature of the College and employee dedication to its purpose. It is high achieving, entrepreneurial, innovative, and perceived by the community and students as an excellent educational value. Much of its growth and success, its application of current technology, and ability to manage tight finances are based on the “can-do” spirit of the employees. People know each other by name and care for one another and their roles in educating students. While there are some challenges, Lake Land is a caring, friendly, mutually supportive, student-centered college. Lake Land College, a public, comprehensive community college located in East Central Illinois, serves approximately 24,000 students annually. The main campus of 308 acres, including a 160-acre land lab, is located south of Mattoon at I-57 and US 45. The College operates the Kluthe Center for Higher Education and Technology in Effingham, the Western Center in Pana, the Eastern Region Center in Marshall, and 17 other sites. High school graduation cohorts are slowly decreasing; nevertheless, the College is growing, experiencing 152% increase in the last 10 years. Enrollment growth is due to consistently enrolling approximately 39% of high school graduates and to other programs such as the online education program, the Center for Business and Industry, the Dislocated Workers Program, the Corrections Program offered at eighteen sites throughout Illinois, a contract program with the Illinois Department of Transportation, and partnerships with John Deere Company, area hospitals, and other companies. State and local taxes, tuition and fees, and grants support the annual operating budget of 33 million dollars. State support per FTE has been flat for several years; local revenue has remained the same or increased slightly; and tuition increases have been modest. The College manages its finances well. It has the second lowest cost per FTE in the state, and tuition is below the state average. The campus is immaculate; the buildings are well maintained; and the staff and students are supported with current technology and equipment. An active foundation has assets in excess of 6 million dollars and annually raises substantial scholarship money. The College is accredited by North Central and is beginning to prepare for its 10 year visit in 2014. Several individual programs are also accredited, and those with licensure exams for graduates have 99% pass rates. The athletic program supports three women’s and two men’s teams that compete well in their leagues and in regional and national tournaments. Lake Land is recognized as a leader with several programs, faculty, and students receiving state and national awards. The College was selected by the Aspen Institute as one on the nation’s top 120 community colleges, and the campus is the safest in Illinois and the fourth safest in the nation. Students are proud of their College and a recent Noel Levitz survey of students placed student satisfaction far above other colleges nationally. Area employers and transfer institutions are pleased with Lake Land’s graduates. The student body is nearly equally divided by gender. The College’s minority population is 9.3% compared to 5% in the region. An eight-person Board of Trustees, seven elected in the district at-large for six-year terms and one student elected annually by the students, governs the College.
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Community College District #517 The College service area or “community” is nearly 4,000 square miles. It is District 517 in the Illinois system of community colleges and includes 31 school systems and all or part of 15 counties. The towns and villages are made up of shaded streets, well maintained homes with congenial, caring neighbors. The clean and neat communities are business friendly and family oriented with a strong work ethic and a low crime rate. Health care and K-12 schools are excellent. Area cost of living is modest with very reasonable housing costs. Small business, light manufacturing, printing, food processing, health care, natural gas and oil are a significant part of the business base; however, the economy is founded in agriculture. The vast majority of the region is abundantly productive farmland. Corn, beans, and livestock are the principal products. Lake Land College and Eastern Illinois University are major employers that provide substantial educational and cultural opportunities in the community. The colleges and school systems are centers for community activities as well as agricultural and business support. Outdoor recreation opportunities include hunting, boating and fishing on Lakes Mattoon, Shelbyville, and Sara, attractive and challenging golf courses, as well as many jogging and bicycling trails. Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis are within a 2 to 3 hour drive. Champaign/Urbana and the University of Illinois are 1 hour north. For more community information, please visit area web sites such as www.mattoonchamber.com, www.charlestonchamber.com, www.effinghamchamber.com and/or www.ecidc.com.