Laker Nation News

How can Lake Land College serve you? That question serves as the foundation for a year-long process the Lake Land College Strategic Planning Committee announced in early September.

To kick off the process, the committee published a comprehensive Trend Analysis Report that provides key takeaways from research on state, national and global trends affecting higher education as well as demographic data for the Lake Land College district and the diverse communities it serves. The report and Executive Summary are published on the college’s website at lakelandcollege.edu/creating-our-future.

As a community college, Lake Land serves all or parts of 15 counties and 31 school districts as district #517. It is the second largest geographical district in the state and is about the same size as the state of Connecticut.

Led by Lake Land College Chief of Staff Jean Anne Grunloh, the strategic planning committee’s work in fiscal year 2022 will set the stage for the next four-year planning cycle, fiscal years 2023-2026. The college’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

“Lake Land College is excited to plan for the future and create a strategic plan that serves our next generation of students,” Grunloh said. “To accomplish this, we will be implementing a process that is deliberately inclusive of our internal and external stakeholders including community members, students and staff.”

Lake Land is inviting all community members, students and staff to complete a brief five-minute survey to assist in the process of identifying the goals and objectives for the next strategic plan. The five-minute survey is available at lakelandcollege.edu under the About Us menu/About Us Links/Strategic Plan.

“Our goal is to develop an innovative and adaptive strategic plan that addresses local, state, national and global trends impacting higher education and positions Lake Land to meet the student and workforce needs in a post-pandemic environment,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said. “To accomplish this goal, we need to hear from community members, business leaders, alumni, current students and future Lakers.”

To learn more visit lakelandcollege.edu and look for the About Us menu and then Office of the President/Strategic Plan.

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In accordance with new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Lake Land College’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Team will be implementing new pandemic response safety protocols to protect the college community.

“Since announcing our return to a more traditional campus environment and in-person class offerings for the fall, the college has been closely monitoring the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant and guidelines issued by the CDC and IDPH. Knowing that a majority of the counties in our college district are at CDC’s “Substantial” or “High” risk levels for community transmission, we are taking these measures to ensure a safe and effective learning environment,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said.

Effective August 4, masks covering the nose and mouth will be required for all individuals at all times while inside campus buildings, regardless of vaccination status. Masks can be removed when alone in an enclosed room with the door shut or in a designated eating area on campus.

All plans for in-person services, classes, events and meetings will continue as planned, maintaining social distancing whenever feasible while indoors. For the fall semester, students can select from in-person, virtual and online courses to build a schedule that best suits their needs.

Employees, students and visitors coming to a college facility are encouraged to self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms prior to visiting campus and to refrain from visiting if feeling ill.

Pandemic safety protocols are subject to change with direction provided by the CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) and the Governor’s Office. Lake Land College will provide updates as relevant information becomes available.

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