LLCC is offering additional assistance to Benedictine University Springfield students affected by the recent decision to discontinue educational programs for traditional-aged students there. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously in special session Thursday to allow all current Benedictine students, regardless of home addresses, to attend LLCC at the in-district tuition rate.

“The Lincoln Land Community College Board of Trustees supports the ongoing efforts of our administration to assist Benedictine students who are looking for a new educational home,” said Trustee Jeff Fulgenzi. “Today, the Board voted to allow current Benedictine students to pay in-district tuition rates at LLCC. We hope this will ease their transition and help them take advantage of the high quality, affordable education offered at LLCC.

“We appreciate that these students have made a commitment to our community by choosing to attend college in Springfield. We wish to honor their commitment through our resolution to provide them with in-district tuition rates, and, more importantly, to ease the fears they face in the wake of this unexpected transition.”

For the full story, click HERE.

The Board of Trustees will have a special meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30 in the R.H. Stephens Room, Menard Hall to discuss ways the college can support Benedictine students in this time of transition.

The LLCC Board of Trustees will meet TODAY, Oct. 21 at 5:15 p.m.* in the R.H. Stephens Room, Menard Hall. A copy of the agenda can be found HERE.

*Please note: Beginning in October, all meetings held on the main campus will begin at 5:15 p.m.

The LLCC Board of Trustees  approved a balanced fiscal year 2015 operating budget for the college at its September meeting. Revenues match expenditures of $43,388,533.

The tentative budget was put on file for public review in late July. The Board held a public hearing on the budget at the beginning of last night’s meeting, at which there were no public comments.

The Board also heard a report on the renovation project ongoing at the LLCC-Taylorville original building. Renovation of the 40-year-old administrative and classroom building will include new energy efficient windows and doors, roofing and exterior walls. Inside, the classrooms, offices, student space and restrooms will be updated with improved accessibility. The finished project will complement the classroom building constructed next door in 2011. The renovation is expected to be completed in August 2015. In the meantime, student services and testing centers have moved to the newer building to maintain the same high levels of service to students.

The Lincoln Land Community College Board of Trustees welcomed new faculty members Phyllis Biever, Dr. Ashley Green, David Leitner, Tim McKenzie and Deana Schenk at its August meeting Wednesday evening. Click HERE to learn more about them!

Also Wednesday evening, Dave Bretscher, director of facilities at LLCC, provided facts about the mainly “behind the scenes” work of his department. He said workers maintain more than 220 acres of property on the Springfield campus alone, including 70 acres of lawn and garden space, 35 acres of athletic fields and outdoor physical education space, 16 acres of paved parking lots and 12 acres of native prairie, plus three miles of concrete sidewalks and two miles of roadways. There are 17 main buildings on the Springfield campus covering 517,689 square feet. Buildings at LLCC locations in downtown Springfield, Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, and in Litchfield, Hillsboro, Taylorville, Jacksonville and Beardstownadd an additional 134,584 square feet to be maintained.

Trustee and Board Vice Chair Craig Findley commented that of the many community and four-year college campuses he has visited in Illinois and elsewhere, LLCC’s campus is the most beautiful and well-maintained, an opinion echoed by Board Chair Justin Reichert.

Trustee Jeff Fulgenzi commended U.S. Senator Dick Durbin for his recent roundtable discussion and press conference held at LLCC, calling attention to student loan debt and the questionable practices of some for-profit colleges. Fulgenzi agreed with Sen. Durbinthat community colleges are a quality and affordable alternative to for-profit colleges and should be strongly considered by all seeking higher education.

The LLCC Board of Trustees will meet today, Aug. 27 at 5 p.m. in the R. H. Stephens Room. Click to read the agenda, which includes the minutes of the previous meeting.

The Lincoln Land Community College Board of Trustees voted Wednesday evening to put the college’s tentative, fiscal year 2015 operating budget on file for public review for 30 days, as required by law. Final approval of the $43-million budget is anticipated at the September board meeting.

Dr. Charlotte Warren, LLCC president, noted that enrollment in College for Kids, a summer enrichment program in its sixth year, reached a record number of 578. She also reported on the natural prairie areas being established on campus which provide both ecological and economic benefits. The cost savings of maintaining one acre of prairie compared to one acre of turf is approximately $870 per year, for an annual savings of $10,440. Also, nearly 1,400 birds of 82 species were banded in the third season of the college’s bird banding station. Some 200 LLCC biology students were involved in the process.

The LLCC Board of Trustees will meet this evening, July 23, beginning at 5 p.m. in the R.H. Stephens Room, Menard Hall. The meeting agenda can be found HERE.