Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.94
Liaison Bert Jacobson
Submission Date Feb. 3, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Kankakee Community College
PA-8: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.25 / 4.00 Bert Jacobson
Dean, Environmental and Institutional Sustainability
Environmental and Institutional Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have policies and programs in place to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes

A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:

Financial aid and child care services are provided, bus discount passes are avilable.


A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:

KCC sees a large proportion of low-income students and has mechanisms in place to assist students from low-income backgrounds as well as first-time full-time students. Programs include mentoring, tutoring, and the services above.


A brief description of any programs to prepare students from low-income backgrounds for higher education:

KCC has a strong foundational (AKA "remedial") education program that helps prepare students from low-income backgrounds for college level work, when needed. KCC also is one of the only community college in Illinois to offer all three TRIO programs (Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search, and Student Support Services).


A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:

Nearly 200 KCC students are awarded $200,000 in scholarships by the KCC Foundation, most are low-income students.


A brief description of any programs to guide parents of low-income students through the higher education experience:

The TRIO Program works with parents.


A brief description of any targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:

KCC does targeted outreach to all district schools including those in the district's poorest areas.


A brief description of other admissions policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:

It is the college’s policy to accept all students for admission...Students are encouraged to complete the assessment standardized placement COMPASS test before the initial planning meeting with an advisor... The scores are used for counseling purposes and
are required for placement in some classes.... These scores do not affect admission to KCC but may be used for advising and placement.


A brief description of other financial aid policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:

KCC offers about $17 million in financial aid. About 60 % of the credit division enrollment receive, on average, about $4,500 for a school year.


A brief description of other policies and programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students not covered above:

Dual credit, intrusive advising, and tutoring.


Does the institution have policies and programs in place to support non-traditional students?:
Yes

A brief description of any scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:

Because much of the financial aid requires full-time admission, many of the scholarships go to the part-time students.


A brief description of any onsite child care facilities, partnerships with local facilities, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:

Onsite child care is provided.


A brief description of other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:

Flexible scheduling, greatly reduced tuition for non-traditional students over 60.


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (accessibility and affordability indicators)?:
Yes

Indicators that the institution is accessible and affordable to low-income students::
Percentage (0-100)
The percentage of entering students that are low-income 63.90
The graduation/success rate for low-income students 15.70
The percentage of student financial need met, on average 76
The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt 69.20

The percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students:
100

The website URL where information about the institution's affordability and access programs is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

KCC does not track how many students participate in programs, workshops, events, etc. on an institutional level. Nor can we measure how many students are impacted by policies. That being said KCC's policies apply to all student, so it is not unreasonable to say that 100% of students benefit from the policies and programs.


KCC does not track how many students participate in programs, workshops, events, etc. on an institutional level. Nor can we measure how many students are impacted by policies. That being said KCC's policies apply to all student, so it is not unreasonable to say that 100% of students benefit from the policies and programs.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.