Local News

Written by Wes Schmidgall   

 

PEORIA — Illinois Central College is working on a Master Plan for both its Peoria and East Peoria campuses that is expected to relocate the programs they house in their Downtown Campus as well as construct a Student Success Center on its North Campus.
ICC plans to relocate its Health Career and Nursing programs they house at the Perley and Thomas buildings in the 100 and 200 blocks of Adams Street in Peoria, where nearly 800 students are enrolled in health career and professional development courses, to its North Campus, 5407 N. University St., Peoria, by 2013.

According to ICC Vice President of Administration and Finance Bruce Budde, students can access the North Campus a lot easier than they can the Downtown Campus.
“The college continually reviews its operation to identify opportunities to improve efficiencies, access and services,” said Budde. “At the ICC North Campus, we have the opportunity to more efficiently serve students currently supported at the Downtown Campus. ICC North offers accessibility for students using public transportation as well as easy access and convenient parking for commuter students.”
The North Campus has plenty space to house the Health Career and Nursing programs, said Budde.
“We took a close look at capacity at the North Campus and have determined that the campus is equipped to support Health Career programs as they currently exist as well as the opportunity for growth,” said Budde.
Relocating the Downtown Campus programs to the North Campus will save ICC an approximate $1 million annually in operating costs.
“We spend close to $1 million annually to operate downtown facilities,” said Budde. “We virtually save that amount by relocating services to ICC North.”
Currently, a little over 5 percent of the total ICC student population attend classes at the Downtown Campus.
ICC leases two of the four floors in the Perley building to the University of Illinois-Springfield, where they operate their MBA program.
After they relocate their Downtown Campus programs to the North Campus, ICC hopes to lease the vacant space to other educational institutions.
“College officials are working with our educational partners to identify complementary uses of the space,” said Budde. “We’ve met with City of Peoria officials to make sure that the downtown buildings remain viable and work in harmony with the city’s plans for downtown.”
ICC Board of Trustees approved a capital development plan to fund about $20 million in improvements to the North Campus, at a July meeting. Among the improvements, the college plans to construct a Student Success Center to serve as a central hub for ICC North.
Although the $8 million Student Success Center is still in its planning stages, college officials anticipate it will include a food court, bookstore, library, lounge area, restrooms, a writing center, math lab, financial aid office, tutoring area and “other services that currently enrolled students might need.”
“The Student Center is intended to provide needed services to students because of growth associated with the ICC North Campus,” said Budde. “While its purpose is not to recruit students, the Student Center does increase the potential for long-term grown at the North Campus by allowing students to access all the services they need, without having to travel to the East Peoria Campus.”
Construction of the Student Success Center will start in 2012.
Budde expects the ICC Board of Trustees to vote on the Master Plan later this year.
“The overall Master Plan for both the Peoria and East Peoria campuses is under development,” said Budde. “The Board of Trustees will review that plan once it’s complete, possibly in October or November.”