When business talks, Illinois Central College listens. Through conversations with industry executives and opinion leaders, ICC has been making changes to meet their needs.

Logistics Classes, When and Where Students Need Them

When area companies asked for an easier way to get people into logistics classes, the ICC Business and Information Systems Department went into action, reviewing the curriculum and developing a totally online program. Now, students who work in warehouses, on second shifts, or in Europe or Asia can earn their associate degree entirely online. “We developed the program to meet the needs of local employers whose staff needed greater accessibility to this coursework,” Matt Hertzog, associate dean, explained. “Online offerings are just one way we can adapt education to meet global needs.”

Keeping Up With Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans, the United States learned a powerful lesson: someone needed to be in charge of managing healthcare delivery systems. “What people didn’t understand was that FEMA was not responsible for keeping the healthcare delivery system viable,” Margaret Swanson, dean of ICC health careers programs, noted. “Through that disaster, the nation identified the need for a coordinating position in healthcare that would make sure medical care was available in emergency situations.” As a result, ICC developed the health emergency management (HEM) program, which provides the education and training needed by healthcare professionals in hospitals, public health departments Placesand emergency response systems to keep healthcare systems up and going during disasters.

Meeting the Market Needs for Occupational Programs

When the City of Pekin and Pekin High School contacted ICC about bringing vocational programs south of ICC’s main location, the wheels were set into motion to develop a new extension site that would focus on career and technical education. Through strategic conversations, ICC and Pekin developed a plan to bring the heating-ventilation-air-conditioning (HVAC) and welding programs to a location in Pekin. The new “South” campus is set to open in fall.

ICC’s Professional Development Institute met with G&D Trucking to assess the educational needs of the trucking industry. Through those discussions, ICC learned that the needs of the trucking industry had changed. This fall, ICC will take over the trucking education program that had previously been offered through a contracted vendor. Now ICC and G&D will work in concert to make sure trucking students are learning what they need. G&D is donating rigs in support of the program.

Adapting to the Lab Environment

For many years, ICC has offered a medical laboratory technician program geared toward training technicians for hospital laboratories. However, the skills that are learned in this program reach beyond the hospital lab. ICC, in conjunction with the national laboratory professionals organization, has broadened its offerings and changed its name to the Clinical Laboratory Technician program. This program, offered half online, trains individuals to accurately perform tests in hospital, research and other lab environments. At the same time, faculty is investigating ways to adapt the curriculum to help more students enter the high-demand field of clinical laboratory technology.

For more information about these and other programs, contact ICC at 694-5-ICC or visit icc.edu. iBi