By KAREN BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

URBANA, Ill. — Illinois community colleges are partnering with the state’s land grant university to offer dual credit classes from its ag college. What this means for the University of Illinois and 48 community colleges statewide is a win-win, said Heather Miller, academic outreach program director at the Urbana campus’ College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES).
“We help the colleges who have limited agricultural coursework, and it is a powerful recruiting program for the university,” she said.

The college last month launched a new program called ACES Access, allowing community college students, as well as two Chicago high school students, to combine distance education technologies for lectures and discussion with hands-on labs to complete UoI courses, Miller said.

Students can complete the work from their respective campuses or even from home. The labs are offered in two all-day sessions on-site at Urbana, Miller said.

This is not entirely new. Last fall was the first semester for the program, which offered “Introduction to Animal Sciences” and attracted 32 students. Professors Mike Hutjens, Doug Parrett and other animal science specialists co-taught the class to students from Kankakee, Illinois Valley, Sauk Valley, Southeastern Illinois, Wilbur Wright, Richland and Carl Sandburg colleges.

In the spring semester, Howard Brown, an ACES adjunct professor, taught “Introduction to Crop Sciences” to 18 students. This fall and spring 2011 will bring soil sciences and horticulture courses. The initiative offers students attending community colleges basic courses in plant, animal and soil sciences that would not otherwise be available in their locale.

“ACES Access was developed to expand the range of agriculture courses that community colleges can offer their students, with the understanding that many Illinois colleges are challenged by declining financial and faculty resources,” said ACES Associate Dean of Academic Programs Laurie Kramer.

In fact, the idea for the distance learning program was proposed by a Kankakee Community College instructor, Dennis Sorenson. It’s a partnership that caught on quick at Sauk Valley College.
“This is a great opportunity for students at two-year colleges to have access to the outstanding faculty and resources of the U of I College of ACES,” said Donald M. Pearl, academic vice president for Sauk Valley Community College.

The College of ACES has invited every Illinois community college to offer any or all of the courses. Participating community colleges offer ACES Access courses through their regular registration process each semester. Students pay the standard tuition rate of their home institution and earn course credit from that college.

Credits may be transferred seamlessly to Illinois or other four-year universities. For more information about the program, contact Miller by e-mail at hmiller1@illinois.edu or call 217-265-6568.