MALTA — Each year, about 6,000 students take classes at Kishwaukee College. Most are either enrolled in the Career Technology programs or are taking their first two years of a university program before transferring on to complete their bachelor’s degree. But in the summer, Kish is host to students who are home from their four-year institution. These students take courses over the summer at Kishwaukee that they then transfer back to their respective universities. It is a strategy that saves them time and money as they pursue their educational goals.
Most four-year colleges and universities have a general education requirement that students must complete, a selection of coursework in a variety of disciplines: quantitative reasoning, communication, humanities, social science, and the sciences. The “Gen Eds” are usually required, regardless of a student’s major. Many students clear a few Gen Ed requirements over the summer at Kishwaukee while they are home.
Madison Lord graduated from DeKalb High School in 2014 and now attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. She is pursuing a B.S. in Business Administration.
“I took Oral Communication in the Summer of 2015, and Principles of Microeconomics in the Summer of 2016 at Kish,” she said. “The two main reasons I took summer classes at Kish were because the classes were more affordable, and they allowed me to speed up my progress with my degree.  Attending a private university has many high costs, and taking even two courses at Kish helped me with keeping those costs low.”
Ben Chiavini, Rochelle, will graduate from Rochelle Township High School this May. He is taking English 104 this summer at Kish.

“I took the Dual Credit composition course in high school last fall and earned ENG 103 credit,” he explained. “By taking 104 this summer, I complete the composition requirement at the University of Illinois at Urbana where I will be going in the fall.”
Chiavini is also transferring Dual Credit coursework in Spanish to UIUC, as well as Advanced Placement credit.
Lord also transferred credit to Embry-Riddle that she earned at Kish while still in high school.
“The two classes I took at Kish in the summer, along with the credits I had transferred to ERAU from the EMSA program during my senior year in high school, are the primary reasons I am able to graduate from Embry-Riddle in three years.”
EMSA is a Kish program for students pursuing science or engineering that allows them to complete college level calculus and science classes during their senior year in high school.
Lord and Chiavini join many other university students who make Kish their summer home. According to Institutional Research at Kishwaukee College, about 48% of the students enrolled at Kish for summer-only in 2015 transferred the credit they earned back to their four-year institutions.
The College participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) so students who attend four-year institutions in-state can check on the transferability of their coursework before they register. All students can check with their academic advisors at their home institutions or meet with a counselor/advisor at Kishwaukee College to check on transferability. Lord made sure her classes would transfer prior to registering at Kish because she attends school in Florida.
“I earned three credits each for both classes taken at Kish. Speech and Microeconomics are required courses for my major at ERAU,” she said.
Registration for summer at Kishwaukee College is currently in progress. For information on enrollment and registration, contact Enrollment Services at 815-825-9375 or at arr@kishwaukeecollege.edu or visit www.kishwaukeecollege.edu/summer.