Rend Lake College

Rend Lake College was founded in 1955 as Mt. Vernon Community College to allow students from High School District No. 201 the opportunity to receive post-secondary education similar to university curriculum. Authorized by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. in 1961, the legislation enacted created the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) . The IBHE was tasked by statute with formulating a Master Plan for Higher Education in the state of Illinois. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] In July 1964 the higher education master plan was published by the IBHE, which led to the Junior College Act of 1965. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Soon thereafter, the institution was officially renamed Rend Lake College when it was organized December 20, 1966. [ 1 ] The Mt. Vernon Township High School and its faculty served as the initial facilities for the college when it began in 1967. [ 1 ] The college began with a staff of 29 full-time and eight part-time faculty members, two full-time administrators and a librarian. [ 1 ] Soon after its organization, the RLC Board of Trustees selected a 350-acre (1.4 km 2 ) site near Ina, Illinois , located between Interstate 57 and Rend Lake , and began planning a new campus. Voters approved a bond issue of $3.1 million in 1967, to provide for the districts local share of the $9.5 million total cost. Groundbreaking ceremonies for construction were held March 27, 1969, coinciding with the day the college received word of its first North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In 2002, off-campus changes occurred with the addition of the Rend Lake College MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon and the Rend Lake College Murphy-Wall Pinckneyville Campus. In Fall 2005, the Applied Science Center opened on the southwest corner of campus. This 22,300 square feet (2,070 m 2 ) facility houses the Agricultural Business, Agricultural Production, Agricultural Mechanics, Heavy Equipment and Diesel Technology programs.

[ 1 ] On August 7, 2008, RLC broke ground on the new Coal Mining Training Center, a 20,000 square feet (1,900 m 2 ) training facility located next to the Mark Kern Applied Science Center. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] The college received $1.07 million in grant funding from Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the construction of the facility, alongside a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to train students in the mining industry. One year later on August 11, 2009, the new facility held its first open house to the public. [ 13 ]

Rend Lake College currently has its main campus in Ina, Illinois. A second learning center for classes, known as the RLC Murphy-Wall Pinckneyville Campus was opened in Pinckneyville, Illinois . [ 14 ] In addition to RLC's two credit learning campuses, the college holds non-credit classes at its RLC Marketplace location. Located in Mt. Vernon, Illinois , the RLC Marketplace houses shops and businesses as a part of RLC curriculum. [ 15 ] In addition to the degrees it offers at its two campuses, Rend Lake College currently operates two satellite campuses at local correctional facilities under contract with the Illinois Department of Corrections . RLC holds vocational and rehabilitative classes at IDOC facilities, which are closed to the public. [ 16 ]

Rend Lake College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission . [ 17 ] Rend Lake College partners with area four-year colleges and universities, such as Southern Illinois University, Carbondale , Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville , and the Western Illinois University as a part of the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), a statewide transfer agreement which ensures general education credits are transferable among more than 100 participating college or universities in Illinois. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] In addition to the IAI, RLC offers students "two-plus-two" programs that guarantee students that the courses completed at the college will transfer to their majors at four-year baccalaureate institutions. [ 20 ] There are seven primary divisions at Rend Lake College: Advanced Technology, Math/Science/Education, Allied Health, Health & P.E., Applied Science, Skills Center, Liberal Arts, and Special Programs. The divisions offer a total of 43 associate degree programs, and 80 certificate programs. [ 2 ] [ 21 ]