Sauk Valley Community College enters into remote degree pact with SIU Carbondale

CARBONDALE — Students from Sauk Valley Community College can study remotely and attain a bachelor’s degree in 12 academic disciplines from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale after the leaders of the two schools signed an agreement on Wednesday.

SIU Chancellor Austin A. Lane and SVCC President David Hellmich added their signatures to the pact — signed at their respective campuses.

When it was established in 2021, Saluki Step Ahead program provided qualified community college students the option to earn a bachelor’s degree remotely and at lower cost in six academic disciplines.

The program now includes pacts with 44 community colleges in Illinois, Missouri and Texas and the list of degree options has also grown.

Under the program, students can study accounting, business administration, criminology and criminal justice, early childhood education, elementary education, health care management, history, industrial management and applied engineering, information technology, nursing for RN to BSN, psychology, or radiologic sciences.

“Southern Illinois is a superb university, and this partnership is another wonderful example of our institutions working together,” Hellmich said in a news release issued jointly by SIU News and SVCC. “Saluki Step Ahead is all about affordability and accessibility. SVCC graduates in transfer programs will be able to apply to SIU early, secure a spot in their degree track and complete a bachelor’s degree, all online, if they prefer, at a low cost.”

Students in the program pay the community college rate for their first two years. In their third and fourth years, they receive an annual $4,000 scholarship.

Saluki Step Ahead is all about affordability and accessibility. SVCC graduates in transfer programs will be able to apply to SIU early, secure a spot in their degree track and complete a bachelor’s degree, all online, if they prefer, at a low cost.”

—  David Hellmich, president at Sauk Valley Community College

The program has the endorsement of the Illinois Community College Board, the coordinating organization for the state’s 39 community college districts.

Lane, who was chancellor when the program was initiated, said he is pleased to collaborate with SVCC.

“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,” he said in the same news release.

SIU is in the midst of its Imagine 2030 strategic plan, part of which is to grow enrollment to 15,000 by 2025.

SVCC serves 2,00 students in Lee, Whiteside, Ogle, Bureau, Carroll and Henry counties from its campus between Dixon and Sterling. It offers 52 associate degrees and 29 certificates.