Prairie State College
Tel:
(708) 709-3500
- Prairie State College is a two-year community college offering associate degrees, technical and career studies certificates, plus adult, corporate and continuing education. We're the first Illinois community college to guarantee all of our degree and technical certificate programs. We're honored to be recognized for the quality of our programs and services through six awards for excellence from the Illinois Community College Board - more than any other college in the state.
School Highlights
Prairie State College serves 4,574 students (39% of students are full-time).
The college's student:teacher ratio of 27:1 is lower than the state community college average of 35:1.
Minority enrollment is 63% of the student body (majority Black), which is more than the state average of 40%.
School Overview
The teacher population of 169 teachers has stayed relatively flat over five years.
| Prairie State College | (IL) Community College Avg. | |
| Carnegie Classification | Baccalaureate / Associates Colleges | Baccalaureate / Associates Colleges |
| Institution Level | Less than 2 yrs | At least 2 but less than 4 years |
| Institution Control | Public | Public |
| Total Faculty | 169 staff | 123 staff |
Source: 2016 (or latest year available) IPEDS
School Notes
- Prairie State College's 123-acre campus is located at South Halsted Street and Vollmer Road in Chicago Heights, Ill. Our north campus facilities, to the north of Vollmer Road, include the Health/Tech Center, Child Care Center, Physical Plant and Facilities warehouse and headquarters, the Illinois Employment and Training Center, plus four wooden temporary structures where our Adult Education programs are held. Here you'll find English as a Second Language, Literacy, Adult Basic Education and GED classes, and adult education computer labs. The main building, to the south of Vollmer Road, houses faculty and administrative offices, classrooms, laboratories, and student services facilities. A four story-building, the main campus building includes a Technology Center, where programs such as Automotive, Welding, Manufacturing Technology and Air Conditioning and Heating programs take place. Prairie State College, Illinois Community College District 515, serves thousands of residents each year in the Chicago Southland region. We additionally serve a growing number of people outside our geographic district through our corporate training and international student programs. Founded in 1957 as Bloom Township Community College, our first classes were held in 1958 in the basement of the First Christian Church. The College has come a long way since then. Bloom Community College was originally established to offer transfer liberal arts courses and occupational courses. Most students graduating in the early 1960s earned degrees in the liberal arts. Today, the College serves a more broad population, offering five types of associate's degrees (associate in arts, associate in science, associate in fine arts, associate in applied science, associate in general studies), two types of certificates (technical and career studies) and training in many other areas. Part of PSC's growth began back in 1967 when the College was reorganized as a Class I junior college. Then, with the combining of four high school districts into an enlarged territory, the College was renamed Prairie State College. The Beecher district was added to District 515 in 1989 by the Illinois Community College Board. The college is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Nearby Schools
The nearest community college to Prairie State College is South Suburban College (5.7 miles away).
- College Location Mi. Students
- South Suburban CollegePublic4,329 students | 5.70 Mi15800 South State Street
South Holland, IL 60473
(708) 596-2000 5.704,329 - 4,572 students | 13.00 Mi10001 S Woodlawn Ave
Chicago, IL 60628
(773) 291-6100 13.004,572 - 15,286 students | 15.00 Mi9000 W. College Parkway
Palos Hills, IL 60465
(708) 974-4300 15.0015,286 - Brown Mackie College-MerrillvillePrivate, for profit512 students | 16.60 Mi1000 E 80th Place, Suite 2055
Merrillville, IN 46410
(219) 769-3321 16.60512 - 8,914 students | 16.60 Mi7500 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60652
(773) 838-7500 16.608,914
Recent Articles
With serious mental health issues on the rise on college campuses nationwide, community colleges are scrambling to provide expanded mental health services to students.
We examine a new report at USA Today that shows employment rates for community college graduates have skyrocketed - and which of the fields where a community college degree is particularly helpful.
Who says college is just for the 18 - 22 year old crowd? In fact, more community colleges are recruiting students over the age of 50 - and for good reason!
