Joliet Junior College, America's first public community college (1901), teaches about 30,000 students a year across five Illinois locations, offering 180+ degrees and certificates.
Joliet Junior College is America's first public community college, founded in 1901. The institution serves approximately 30,000 students a year across a seven-county district in the south Chicago suburbs, delivering both transfer education for students bound for four-year universities and occupational programmes that lead directly to employment. It is publicly funded and operates five locations: the main campus at 1215 Houbolt Road in Joliet, Illinois, the City Center Campus, the Romeoville Campus, the Morris Education Center and the Weitendorf Agricultural Education Center.
Its academic offer runs to more than 180 degree and certificate programmes arranged across nine pathways: Agricultural Sciences & Veterinary Technology, Architecture & Manufacturing, Business & Finance, Culinary & Hospitality, Health & Public Safety, Liberal & Fine Arts, Social & Behavioral Sciences, STEM and Workforce Training. Faculty teach in settings ranging from lecture halls to agricultural facilities, culinary kitchens and workforce training sites, with an emphasis on accessibility and affordable tuition; the college awards more than $1m in scholarships annually alongside its financial aid provision.
The institution states its mission as inspiring learning, strengthening communities and transforming lives. Teaching staff join an organisation with a long record of educational innovation and a role serving a diverse, multi-county regional community.
