By Analeza Walker
Staff Reporter
City Colleges of Chicago has many partnerships with other colleges and universities, as well as inner city organizations that provide opportunities for students.
These partnerships provide services that may otherwise be unavailable.
Beginning in 2011, the City Colleges established the “College to Career initiative” which prepares students for success in the labor force.
CCC partners with colleges and universities across the nation, and the list of schools is growing just like City College’s partnership network.
“It’s pretty exciting because students can join the partnerships and there are often scholarships involved,” said Transfer Center Director Ellen Goldberg.
These different partnerships and programs are the Transfer Scholars, Compact Agreement, Pathway and Special. These partnerships are geared toward bridging the gap between being at a community college, and going to a college or four-year university.
“It’s making a more seamless transition from City Colleges to four-year universities; it really takes a lot of the stress away,” said Goldberg.
“The Transfer Scholars program already has about 20 plus schools responding, and with this, students get on-the-spot admissions when they apply to three schools on the list,” said Goldberg.
As of 2016, the Transfer Partnership CCC has is with Arizona State University and many others.
“Whether it’s here in Chicago, or 1,700 miles away in Tempe, opportunities for a four-year degree provide our students with the important tools they need to succeed in today’s global economy,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
City Colleges also partners with vendors within the city, and they can receive this opportunity by filling out an application describing their services.
“CHA residents are eligible to attend City Colleges of Chicago at low or no cost,” according to a Chicago Housing Authority informational slipsheet. CHA is one of the organizations that partner with City Colleges.
CHA yields a variety of services for students including job readiness and career access.
“The goal of this program is to support CHA residents to become more self-sufficient,” said Brittany Crosby at an information session.
CHA’s Partners in Education program covers tuition, books, supplies and other necessities. This program is to assist the student in making them employable for a career.
As with most of City Colleges partnerships, there are certain criteria that students have to meet in order to qualify for its services.
To qualify for the Partners in Education program, for example, a student would already have to be a CHA resident, and they cannot apply for outside loans or they are dropped from the program.
CHA does not offer its housing services to all students, as it is only for those who are already CHA residents and looking to become students at City Colleges.
“[Partners in Education] is very useful, and it allows people to go back to school,” said Marcella Thomas, an HWC student who is a part of the program. “I learned about it last spring, and I took advantage of it for the summer semester; they pay for everything.”
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