What do you see as C.O.D.’s biggest challenges in the future?

How has the community college changed?
• While many students come to College of DuPage to begin work on the first two years of a four-year degree or to provide personal enrichment in their lives, a growing number of adults are looking to the college to help them start a new career or get additional training in their fields. This increase is reflected in the average age of a C.O.D. student: 33 years.
• By 2006, the population of District 502 is projected to grow to one million, and 118,000 new jobs will be created in the next decade. That projected increase includes 56,000 jobs in the service sector, which encompasses health services, engineering services, and personal and repair services.
• Projections also call for thousands of manufacturing jobs — many requiring highly technical skills such as printing and publishing, fabricated metals, machinery and electrical work — to relocate from the inner Chicago metro area to DuPage County.
• DuPage County’s ability to provide qualified, well-trained workers for these jobs and identify potential workforce development opportunities will help keep the local economy healthy and strong.
• To meet that need, it’s crucial that the college stay on the cutting edge with new and innovative job training programs, services and the latest technology to give students experience in these areas.

Will we be able to meet community needs?
• Unfortunately, College of DuPage currently lacks the funding for new programs, while space for existing programs is at a premium. Simply put, the college has no more room in its present facilities.
• In addition to the need for more space, the college must address several other facility issues that affect its campus. One of those challenges is what to do with the original buildings west of Lambert Road. Constructed as temporary buildings, they are still in use after more than 30 years. Because they are inefficient and expensive to maintain, it would benefit the college to consolidate the programs located in those buildings and make better use of that area.
• In its recently completed facilities master plan, the college identified several potential options for the campus that would provide expanded educational opportunities and services, including a Health and Sciences building and a center for baccalaureate education offered by various four-year institutions.
• Another key challenge is the Instructional Center (IC), the first permanent building on campus, which is nearly 30 years old and shows its age. Its rusting exterior is in need of significant repair, while the interior is overcrowded and lacks the technology needed in today’s classrooms and labs.
• Other key issues include parking, which is often strained at peak times on campus, the maintenance of existing buildings in order to protect the investment the community has made in them over the years, and the unification of C.O.D.’s campus for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
• C.O.D. must also address several operational challenges. Among a staff of 2,400 employees, the college has only 300 full-time faculty members. Increasing the number of full-time faculty would give students a wider range of educational opportunities. While the college offers competitive salaries now, it might not be able to do so in the future without additional revenue.

How can C.O.D. meet additional needs while keeping tuition affordable?
• Because College of DuPage has experienced a decrease in the percentage of funding it receives from the state — from 25 percent in 1991 to a current 16.4 percent (FY02) — the college must rely heavily on operating revenue generated by local taxes.
• Fortunately, because District 502 encompasses such a wide area with a large tax base, the college has been able to provide high quality educational programs to residents at an extremely low rate. In fact, C.O.D. has the lowest tax rate of any community college in the state.
• Tuition at the college is $37 per credit hour for residents of District 502, a rate near the average of all Illinois community colleges.

What does the community really want?
• A recent district-wide needs assessment study of adult residents and area employers found that approximately half of those employers would be interested in pursuing partnerships and initiatives with C.O.D., including working with the college to provide on-site instruction.
• More than half of all district residents surveyed said they intended to take college-level coursework in the next three to five years, with an emphasis on computers and technology and business and marketing-related subjects for job training or enhancement/personal development.
• Much of that demand is from working adults who said they would prefer weekday evening courses in a convenient location. However, the college lacks space for additional programs and services during those peak times.
• Approximately 30 percent of respondents also expressed interest in having convenient access to either baccalaureate or graduate level programming at C.O.D. sites.

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