Section 1501.305  College, Branch, Campus, and Extension Centers

a)         Approval of a New College.  An application for approval for a proposed new college shall be submitted to ICCB on forms provided by ICCB. The criteria for approval of a new college are:

1)         The proposed college shall be authorized by the Board of Trustees.

2)         The proposed college shall meet educational needs that cannot be met within that area of the district as demonstrated by a needs assessment. The needs assessment shall include identification of all other educational institutions providing postsecondary education within a 30-mile radius of the proposed college, identification of student demand for postsecondary education by program area within the service area of the proposed college, a statement on how the establishment of the proposed college will impact the enrollments on these postsecondary educational institutions within a 30-mile radius of the proposed college, a statement on how the establishment of the proposed college will impact the current enrollments of the district's present colleges, and of student enrollments for the proposed college.

3)         The proposed college shall provide a comprehensive program of instruction as specified in Section 1-2(e) of the Act.

4)         The district shall certify that the resources for the facilities, equipment, instructional materials, library holdings, and faculty and staff necessary to provide quality instruction pursuant to Section 1501.302 shall be made available to the proposed college.

5)         The needs assessment substantiates that the student enrollment for the proposed college shall be at least 1,000 full-time equivalent students (30,000 semester credit hours) per year by the second full year of operation.

6)         The district shall have at least $150 million of assessed valuation for each of its colleges, including the proposed college.

7)         The proposed college shall serve a population of at least 60,000 or a geographic area of at least three entire counties.

8)         The plans to obtain regional accreditation for the proposed college have been developed.

b)         Approval of a Branch or Campus.  An application for approval of a proposed branch or campus shall be submitted to ICCB on forms provided by ICCB. The criteria for approval of a branch or campus are:

1)         The proposed branch or campus shall be authorized by the Board of Trustees.

2)         The proposed branch or campus shall meet educational needs that cannot be met in that area of the district as demonstrated by a needs assessment.

3)         The college shall certify that resources for facilities, equipment, instructional materials, library holdings, and faculty and staff necessary to provide quality instruction pursuant to Section 1501.302 shall be made available to the proposed branch or campus.

4)         The proposed branch or campus shall provide student and academic support services on site that are adequate pursuant to Section 1501.302 to support the curricula offered and the students in attendance at the branch or campus.

c)         Extension Centers.  An extension center located within the community college district is a reasonable and moderate extension of a college and may be established at the discretion of the district's Board of Trustees. An extension center located outside the community college district requires ICCB approval under Section 1501.307.

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 18680, effective November 13, 2020)