When registration opens in a few weeks, IVCC students will be logging into a new registration and payment system.
IVCC has replaced WebAdvisor with IVCC Self Service. Currently, students cannot register for classes yet however they can look at course offerings on the IVCC Self Service platform and begin planning their summer and fall schedules.
Registration dates are later than usual in anticipation of the transition and students have been notified of the change. Old WebAdvisor links
Access self service at https://ssprod.ivcc.edu/Student/Courses
Summer registration opens April 10; Fall registration opens April 11
will redirect to Self Service.
Self Service is easy to use and comprehensive, said Director of Admissions and Records Tom Quigley. According to Quigley, its user-friendly interface is easy to navigate through registration and payment processes, viewing course offerings and managing academic profiles.
“IVCC Self Service will have a different look than WebAdvisor but students will still be able to look at
Students will see a tuition increase for classes, starting this summer, after action March 14 by the college’s Board of Trustees.
The board ended a sixyear freeze on tuition by approving a $3 tuition increase and also authorized the adjustment of several course fees.
Effective this summer, students will pay $140 per credit hour in combined tuition and universal fees, compared to $135 per credit hour previously.
The overall $5 increase includes a $3 increase in tuition and a $2 increase in a technology fee. The student activities fee will remain unchanged.
classes, register, make payments, and more in IVCC Self Service!” he said.
To log in to Self Service, students will use the same K-number and password as their WebAdvisor login. If you don’t know your password, click on “Forget Password” to reset it. Use your IVCC Eagle mail or the email you applied with.
If you encounter any difficulties accessing or navigating Self Service, reach out to the Student Help Desk
for assistance.
Students can meet with a counselor now to set up their Summer and Fall schedules.
Priority registration opened on March 25, summer registration opens on April 10 and fall registration on April 11.
Self Service can be accessed by either of these links: https:// ssprod.ivcc.edu/Student/Courses and https://www.ivcc.edu/iamaan/ ivccstudent/
The increase is designed to keep pace with escalating post-pandemic costs and the escalating cost of technology enhancements, said President Tracy Morris.
The board also authorized changing 73 course fees. After an annual review of 300 courses with fees, the administration had recommended increasing 62 fees, decreasing two, removing one fee, adding three new courses with fees, and eliminating five courses and their fees.
IVCC’s tuition had remained at $125.60 for six years. With the increase, tuition is still lower than nine of the 11 Illinois community colleges in IVCC’s peer group, which represents colleges that are similar to IVCC.
Students from the IVCC Project Success Leadership Team display the baskets they crated to help distribute in the community. The IVCC Project Success Leadership Team raised funds and contributions from the campus community to assemble 100 baskets for the Youth Service Bureau to distribute to children in its care. The group collected an assortment of items ranging from stuffed animals to jump ropes and candy to coloring books.
Illinois Valley Community College and its neighboring community colleges will move ahead to collaborate on professional development and create a shared legislative liaison position as recommended by the College’s Decennial Committee.
As part of the Local Government Efficiency Act, IVCC’s ad hoc committee and other local governments
across the state explored how they could collaborate to improve services and share costs.
The first collaborative effort was a series of professional development sessions on internet technology that got underway this spring. Cost-sharing will make the arrangement cost-effective for the colleges, the committee reasoned.
Meanwhile, IVCC, Kishwaukee and Sauk Valley community colleges are considering a position to be shared among the schools: an officer to monitor legislation, help the colleges interpret it, and guide their actions to remain in compliance with federal, state and local guidelines.
Additional collaborative opportunities will be considered by the col-
leges’ presidents.
“This is a great first step in working together to better utilize resources and expertise and to approach new opportunities from a regional partnership approach,” said IVCC President Dr. Tracy Morris. “The goal of improving collaboration with other local community colleges was met.”
The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment now resides in D-201 after a long-awaited remodel.
CETLA hours are Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Friday: 8 a.m.-noon, and other times by appointment. IVCC’s CETLA coordinatior Dawn Lockwood took the time to answer a few questions regarding this new space on campus.
Q: How long did the construction take for this new space?
A: This space has been in the works for a long time. The construction ran into supply chain issues and other construction delays. We are very excited to be in the new space.
Q: What is the highlight of this new addition to our campus?
A: The best part of the space for CETLA is it is very flexible for training. All the tables and chairs are on wheels, allowing us to set the room in different configurations that can accommodate the entire faculty for Inservice, Faculty Summer Institute with a group of around 15, or a meeting with two or three.
Q: This addition houses CETLA and the college performance bands. What will this space be used for?
A: The bands and CETLA activities will keep this space busy during the day and evenings. We will have a video recording space that when it becomes operational will be available to faculty and students.
Q: For newer students and people who do not know what CETLA is, what is it?
A: CETLA’s mission is to support faculty at IVCC. We strive to support teaching and learning for faculty and student success. CETLA is a comprehensive one-stop support shop for all IVCC faculty located in room 201 in the D building. The space offers all faculty access to a scanner, printer, computers, and the CETLA staff who can assist with any instructional need.
For more information regarding CETLA, contact Dawn Lockwood dawn_ lockwood@ivcc.edu or go to https://www.ivcc.edu/cetla/ More details about the musical groups can be found by contacting Michael Pecherek, michael_pecherek@ivcc. edu. Both wind ensemble and jazz band will utilize the space in D-201.
Students can get a first-person view of the CETLA enhancements in D-201. The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment benefits IVCC’s faculty and students. For more information regarding CETLA, contact Dawn Lockwood dawn_lockwood@ivcc. edu or go to https://www.ivcc.edu/cetla/.
Illinois Valley Community College changed Lauren Frost’s life by giving her a fresh start.
After a rocky first year that left her feeling that she wasn’t college material, Frost took a break. She worried that she wasn’t ready to return, but her career ambition had changed, and personal struggles had been overcome, so she enrolled in Spring 2023 classes.
“I couldn’t shake my failures off and feared I wouldn’t be welcomed back. But IVCC didn’t judge me for my previous setbacks ... it felt like I
was given a fresh start,” Frost wrote in her winning essay for the 2024 Paul Simon Student Essay Contest. Students were asked to describe how IVCC changed their lives.
Frost, of Princeton, will read her essay at the College’s Commencement Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18. In addition, her essay
has been submitted for the Illinois Community College Trustees Association statewide Simon award.
Her experiences on her hiatus from classes helped clarify her career direction. An interest in becoming a social worker flexed slightly to absorb her love of music. “I discovered how important music is for mental health and concluded I wanted to become a music therapist. If I hadn’t returned to school, I wouldn’t have the same conviction about the career I want.”
After graduating this spring, Frost will pursue a degree at Illinois State
University.
Support from faculty, classmates and family has motivated and encouraged her. Her parents are IVCC graduates and she is the first of her siblings to go to college. Her mother’s encouragement to submit an essay carried this simple reminder. “Look how far you’ve come.”
“IVCC didn’t dwell on my former dereliction as a student. Instead, the focus was on my future. I wouldn’t have wanted to start my college journey at any other school,” Frost concluded.
“Safe, Knowledgeable, Caring.”
Nursing instructror Margie Francisco uses these three words to describe her expectations for healthcare students, “Sometimes, it’s not the skill that patients need, but they need the empathy and the compassion as well.”
Francisco, who will retire after this seemster, has taught at IVCC since 2005. In addition to her 19 years at IVCC, she also worked for 46 years at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley.
Francisco, who grew up in Putnam County, always wanted to be a nurse even as a child.
At the age of 17, she started a three-year college program. She later returned to college to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing. Later as an adult, she then earned her doctorate in education.
While serving as a nurse for 46 years at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley before it closed last year, she was able to see her teachings in action.
“I loved working with my former students and seeing them develop as nurses,” Francisco said.
A typical week for Francisco consists of class lectures twice a week, clinicals, and hands-on time in the lab. Days at the clinical site are around nine hours long making it one of the most intense parts of her teaching responsibility.
With her limited free time, Francisco en-
joys quilting. Memory quilts from meaningful T-shirts are an example of her craft.
“It’s a form of therapy for me,” she says. Francisco is in the process of completing her very own IVCC memory quilt to remember her time spent teaching.
Francisco also enjoys traveling. Europe and Ireland are just a couple of her favorite destinations. With her upcoming retirement, Francisco plans to use extended free time to continue traveling around the world.
Family will always be important to Francisco. She and her husband Pete have three daughters and six grandchildren. All three of her daughters also work in healthcare.
For new students entering the world of nursing, Francisco notes that it is a “wonderful yet challenging,” field of work:“We are in it for the outcome and not the income,” she said.
In addition, Francisco said, “What I’m going to miss most are my coworkers —that I’ve become good friends with — and the students. I love the students; I love my peers.”
Nursing student Olivia Colmone, in her nomination of Francisco for a teaching award, comments on Francisco’s teaching by saying, “She is the light of the nursing programs.”
Feedback such as this earned her a 2024 nomination for the Stephen Charry Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence.
To contact Francisco or send her wishes on her retirement, she can be reached at margie_francisco@ivcc.edu or call 815-224-0574 (office B302).
The Illinois Valley Community College Board on March 14 hired two veteran employees to fill new dean positions tasked with assessing and improving student performance and success.
Kathy Hart was appointed dean of Institutional Effectiveness, a position tasked with overseeing and guiding institutional research, quality improvement, and strategic planning.
Hart holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis and has been employed at IVCC since 2018.
As dean of Student Success, Crystal Credi will develop, implement, and monitor student success strategies and coordinate related departments, including Career Services, Counseling, Retention, and Project Success. Credi holds a master’s in organizational leadership and has been employed at the College since 2013 in several student support roles.
The creation of both of these positions reflects a Higher Learning Commission initiative and the College’s commitment to data-informed processes and student success.
n Noted the addition of a freezer to the Eagles Peak Food Pantry, enabling the pantry to supply a larger variety of foods. Over the last quarter of 2023, the pantry served 213 households, including 200 children.
n Recognized organizers of Black History Month and Women’s History Month activities on campus.
n Noted that 40 employ-
In her monthly report, President Tracy Morris: n Congratulated the winners of annual faculty and staff awards: nursing professor Amber Robertson won the Stephen Charry Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence (full time faculty and counselors); Counselor Debbie Burch was selected as the Outstanding Part-Time Faculty Award (part-time faculty and counselors), and Jill Wohrley, Financial Aid Reconciliation and Compliance Specialist was awarded the Connie Skerston Memorial Award for Support Staff Distinguished Service.
ees contributed to raising more than $11,800 in the Employee Giving Campaign to benefit the IVCC Foundation and the 21st Century Scholars Society gained three new members/supporters and six honorary members, bringing the total to 51.
n Noted that adult education enrollment in GED and English as a Second Language programs stands at 278 students.
In other action, the Board:
n Authorized a threeyear cash farm lease with Holly Farms of Granville for 116 acres at $326 per acre or $37, 817 per year, and also contracted with Holly Farms for combining and grain hauling at $200 per acre and 35 cents per bushel.
Students who are interested in joining the newspaper staff are asked to apply for editorial positions for 20242025.
Emma Coss of Ottawa will return as the IV Leader editor in chief.
Student positions available include editors for opinion, arts and sports sections as well as photo, social media and multimedia editors.
Students who would like to learn more about serving on the newspaper staff should email adivser Lori Cinotte at lori_cinotte@ivcc.edu.
D I T O R I A
LCollege life can be overwhelming for many students. The average college student has to juggle multiple responsibilities including school, work and relationships. The workload of a fulltime student is equivalent to a full-time job.
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a recognized medical diagnosis. It is a serious issue that should not be taken lightly.
There are a variety of reasons why students may experience burnout in college. For example, students may feel pressured to meet certain expectations, leading to burnout.
Going to college can be a daunting experience, and students often feel pressured to meet expectations, both from themselves and their loved ones.
However, it’s important to understand that
college is a significant transition, and becoming an adult is a learning process. Students should not feel guilty if they can’t always meet everyone’s expectations.
Another factor that can lead to burnout is isolation. Unlike high school, college life can feel quite lonely since everyone is busy with their own lives. To combat this feeling of isolation, students need to make an effort to connect with others and build relationships.
It can be difficult to find the right group of people that you connect with, especially for introverts like me. However, I want to remind you that there is hope and you shouldn’t stress too much. There are people out there for everyone.
Students who transition to college straight from high school may experience burnout. Going to school for twelve
Hello, Eagles! This will be my last report as the 2023-24 Student Trustee!
Elections for Sophomore Student Government members are Thursday April 4 & Friday, April 5 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m., outside the SGA Office in the Student Life Space.
Petitions are due by 2 p.m. Friday, March 29 for anyone interested in applying. Petitions can be picked up outside of Cory Tomasson’s office in E-Building.
A Student Picnic that SGA is organizing will be Wednesday, April 17, in the front of campus. Games and food will be provided.
On April 16, there will be a Wellness Series, put together by the Student Success Committee. This will be
years straight and then jumping right into another two or four years can be exhausting.
College students who work on top of being a full-time student are under a lot of pressure. It’s understandable why they may feel burned out.
Another reason why students may feel burnout is that they feel uncertain about where they are in life. Seeing other people who appear to have everything together can make you feel defeated.
Burnout can make you feel like you are lagging behind everyone else. You may come across people who appear to have everything figured out, but in reality, no one has everything figured out.
It is crucial to prioritize self-care to overcome burnout. When our schedules get busy, we tend to neglect self-care, and it can feel like a lux-
ury that is not achievable or a significant priority. However, the moment we stop prioritizing selfcare, we become susceptible to burnout.
Dealing with burnout can be challenging, but you don’t have to go through it alone. IVCC offers many resources, including faculty, advisors, and fellow students who are always ready to help.
In addition, Transformative Growth is another resource that students can utilize. They offer four free therapy sessions, and they can assist with burnout and other issues that students may need to address. Burnout can make you feel like you may be lagging everyone else. There are a lot of people who may seem like they have it all figured out but deep down that’s probably not the case.
No one has everything figured out.
Editor: Emma Coss
Arts Editor: Eric Lockwood
Sports Editors: Logan Bland Jake Gerding
Photo Editor: MaKade Rios
Staff: Lucy Zavada, Grace Mertel, Wes Ruppert, Nicholas Graham, Ashton Watkins, Jason Bell.
a day full of activities geared toward mental & physical health for students.
On Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29, SGA will host a campus wide easter egg hunt. SGA members will hide Easter Eggs! Once you find an egg, you can return it to the SGA Office, in the Student Life Space, for a prize. Two eggs will be returned for a special prize.
Thank you for staying up to date with me! It was a pleasure to write for you.
BY LIBBY BOYLES STUDENT TRUSTEE
IV Leader, a member of the Associated Collegiate Press, is published monthly by students of Illinois Valley Community College. Editorials and columns express opinions of student and staff members and do not necessarily express the views of IVCC, the administration or the Board. Editorial opinions are those a student editorial board. Letters to the editor must be signed and should be addressed to the IV Leader Office B-316, IVCC, 815 N. Orlando Smith Rd., Oglesby, IL 61348-9691.
www.ivleader.com
Read the IV Leader online, meet the staff, apply for a staff position, and explore the newspaper’s long, distinguished history online.
To join the staff, contact lori_cinotte@ivcc. edu
Showtime is at 7:30
on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. for Sundays.
Tickets are now available on the online box office for “Tootsie.”
Tickets will be $20 for adults and $15 for high school and younger. The show is not recommened for
IVCC’s Art Department hosts its annual Student Art Show from April 1-12. An award reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. April 12 in the Student Life Space. Art instructor Shannon Slaight Brown said students from 12 area high schools as well as IVCC students will display work. Last year, seven high schools participated, so Slaight
increase.
children under 10, as the show features adult themes, language, and adult situations.
Producer and director Don Grant Zellmer said, “We selected Tootsie, because it’s a brand new show. It recently had a showing up in Chicago and we’ll be the first to premiere it in
the Illinois Valley. It’s also a comedy, so we hope it attracts a large crowd.”
For the audience, Zellmer said, “I think they’ll come away from this very entertained. This is a comedy musical with a big emphasis on the comedy. We hope they enjoy it and come back for the next show.”
“Tootsie” show dates are April 11-14 and 18-21.
Showtime is at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. for Sundays with all shows in the Mary Margaret Weeg Cultural Centre on campus. The theatre department is led by David Kuester.
A reinvigorated Day of Writing brought more than 40 young authors and poets from LaSalle-Peru, Ottawa, Streator and Hall high schools to IVCC on March 8 to share, review and critique their work and hear inspiration from Waubonsee College English professor John Hayward. During workshops, students received feedback from peers and IVCC instructors on their prose and poetry and stretched their writing muscles to creative prompts. The day ended with an open-mic reading. The day was organized by English instructor Delores Robinson.
Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears have made their decision on what they want to do with the number 1 pick in this years NFL Draft.
The Bears officially traded Justin Fields away to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Satuday, March 16 in a trade that many people expected to happen sooner or later.
The Bears in return got a 2025 sixthround pick that turns into a fourth round pick if Fields plays 51% of his snaps this season per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Fields now becomes the backup for Pittsburgh playing behind veteran QB Russell Wilson.
This is a great situation for Fields as he now has an opportunity to fight for the starting job while also learning from a vetern qb who has started 12 seasons in the NFL and has won a super bowl with the Seahawks in 2014.
He also gets to be coached by a great head coach, Mike Tomlin who has been the coach for the Steelers since 2007 and has also won a super bowl in his career so Fields will definitely have some good mentorship at his new team.
So what does this mean for the Bears now? The Bears will likely stay at pick one and select the QB of their choice unless they for some odd reason trade down from one if they think their guy could fall past some teams, but I doubt that will happen.
Thankfully for the Bears, this years QB draft class is one of the better ones we’ve seen in the past years being led by 2022 heisman winner Caleb Williams from USC.
Caleb should be the number one pick as many draft analyst say he is the best QB draft prospect weve seen since Andrew Luck
and even draws in comparisons to Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.
The other two possible options for the Bears at number one are North Carlina QB Drake Maye who draws comparison to Justin Herbert with his great size and similar play style.
The other option is LSU QB Jayden Daniels who is the oldest of the three and just won the heisman this year having a great Senior year with LSU.
A dark horse candidate for the Bears would be to draft Michigan
QB J.J. McCarthy, Oregon QB Bo Nix, or even Washington QB Michael Penix but those qbs are a longshot and likely wont happen.
Regardless of which QB the Bears pick at number one, that QB will be going into a great situation having great weapons to throw to such as DJ Moore, newly aqquired Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet, and even new rb D’Andre Swift to help in the run game. And even adding in a young emerging defense along with whoever they select with the ninth pickinto the mix, the situation for our new QB will definitky be a great one to start a career in.
The IVCC Softball season has started off strong with the team starting the season with a record of 8-2 and are currently on a seven game win streak as of March 26.
The Eagles will have played four more by the time of publication. They then finish their season playing 22 games in the month of April.
The next home games for the softball team is a double header against Black Hawk College - Moline on Tuesday, April 2.
The Eagles are led by Sophomore Maddy Klicker who leads the team in Runs with 16, hits with 17, and
AVG hitting .486 so far and also has the highest OBP with a .538 percentage so far.
The Eagles are also led by Freshman Maddy Pagrcic who leads the team in RBI’s with 17 on the year while hitting .485 with 16 hits and a homerun so far this season.
The Eagles also have three other players with a batting average over .400 on the year being Taylor Wetsel (.469), Ella Sibert (.412), and Katie Bates (.400).
The team opened its season with a spring break trip to Florida.
Players gather for a group photo.
Illinois Valley Community College’s men’s basketball head coach Chris Herman was named 202324 All-Arrowhead Conference Coach of the Year, and three of his players earned All-Conference Team honors.
Conference coaches selected freshmen Wade Simms and Roderick Watson-Pearcey to the first all-conference team and freshman Qu’Amar Hobbs to the second team.
The Eagles led the conference last season with a 4-2 conference record.
“It’s a good feeling,” Herman acknowledged the honor. “I’m very pleased.”
He credited his young team for playing well against more experienced opponents on squads that were top-ranked in the division, and for battling back from defeats to take the next victory. “We had a good season. They played hard, and I’m proud of them!”
IVCC Athletic Director Cory Tomasson congratulated Herman, noting “this is the first time that IVCC men’s basketball has won the Arrowhead Conference and the first time an IVCC men’s basketball coach has won Coach of the Year! We’re really proud of how this young team came together so quickly to have such a successful year. Coach Herman and the players really earned these athletic honors.”
Herman expects most of his players to return as sophomores and create a strong nucleus, coupled with promising recruits.
“I’m looking forward to next season!”
Herman has been the Eagles head coach for 10 years.
herman receives coaching honor softball season starts bears eye draft