Member Spotlight – Elgin Community College

Elgin Community College, Elgin, Illinois | elgin.edu | Established 1966 | Peggy Heinrich, NISOD Liaison

Member Spotlight Question and Answer 

When did Elgin Community College become a NISOD Member?
Elgin Community College became a NISOD member in 1998. ECC has been a member for 21 years.

Why is Elgin Community College a NISOD Member?
The mission of Elgin Community College is to improve people’s lives through continued learning. This mission is well aligned with, and supported by, the work of NISOD. Our involvement with NISOD has expanded our ability to provide professional development opportunities to our employees through publications, research, and the annual conference. Additionally, we recognize a number of faculty through the NISOD Excellence Awards each year and send a team to the annual conference for professional development and recognition. This year we are expanding this awards opportunity to include members of our support staff.

What NISOD benefits does Elgin Community College use the most and how?
The NISOD benefits ECC uses most are the annual conference and the Excellence Awards. We are exceptionally proud of our faculty and staff at ECC, and the NISOD Excellence Awards afford us the opportunity to recognize, promote, and affirm the hard work and innovation of our faculty and staff at a national level. We also benefit from group participation in the annual conference, the International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, because the innovative ideas shared there are carried back to our campus. Year after year, faculty and staff return from the conference invigorated, excited, and full of new ideas. We are excited to expand our involvement with NISOD this year by becoming a co-host for a NISOD Regional Workshop, which will allow access to professional development opportunities to a greater number of faculty and staff in our region.

Interesting News Happening at Elgin Community College 

1. ECC is dedicated to training and developing the next generation of skilled trades workers. The college held its first high school welding competition in May 2018, hosted a manufacturing summer camp for teens, and has partnered with area employers to offer apprenticeship programs that provide students the unique opportunity to have their tuition, books, and a full-time salary covered by their employer.
2. Criminal justice students at ECC gain hands-on experience in forensics and investigative work through the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a nationwide volunteer network that assists victims’ families and law enforcement by working on unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases. ECC is the only active chapter in Illinois, and the only chapter in the country that is working to solve the mysterious death of Ryan Singleton.
3. In a committed effort to support students and increase retention rates, ECC’s Wellness Services office has started an anxiety support group with free individual and group sessions with wellness professionals. Other support activities include seminars, classroom presentations, psychosocial education, light therapy, crisis intervention, and referral options.
4. ECC STEM student Angela M. Andrada was selected as one of two community college students in the nation to return to the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program as a student assistant last summer (2018). The program offers students the opportunity to interact with NASA engineers and other subject matter experts as they learn more about careers in science and engineering.
5. Through its dual credit partnerships, ECC offers high school students in local school districts the opportunity to earn college and high school credit through a full-time program held on ECC’s campus. The program, which was piloted in 2016, covers tuition for high school juniors and seniors who go on to simultaneously earn their high school diploma and associate degree with structured support to ensure academic success. A pathway for students interested in career and technical programs also exists.

Every month, NISOD turns the spotlight on the effective ways member colleges use NISOD benefits. These member colleges exemplify NISOD’s mission of improving teaching, learning, and leadership, with the ultimate goal being to increase student success.