CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – Parkland College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale now have a partnership that will allow Parkland students to earn SIU bachelor’s degrees remotely and for less money in 12 academic programs. Parkland College President Pamela Lau and Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor Austin A. Lane signed the agreement for the Saluki Step Ahead program yesterday during a ceremony in Champaign.
The program enables students who graduate with an associate degree from Parkland to complete their SIU bachelor’s degrees online in a variety of fields. These include the following programs:
- Accounting
- Business administration
- Criminology
- Criminal justice
- Early childhood
- Elementary education
- Health care management
- History
- Industrial management applied engineering
- Information technology
- Nursing (RN to BSN)
- Psychology
- Radiologic sciences
Parkland College President Pamela Lau says, “Parkland College welcomes its new partnership with Southern Illinois University Carbondale through the Saluki Step Ahead agreement. For many years, university partnerships have provided Parkland College students with ever-broadening opportunities for seamless credit transfer and the attainment of baccalaureate and other advanced degrees.”
Students in the Saluki Step Ahead program pay the community college rate for their first two years. In the third and fourth years, they receive annual $4,000 scholarships.