Lake Land College in Top 100 Ranking of Community Colleges Awarding Degrees to Minority Students Posted on December 14, 2018 Lake Land College is ranked among the Top 100 colleges in the country for awarding ALS/General Studies degrees to African American students according to a recent independent study by the news association Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s Dec. 13, 2018 edition features the Top 100 Associate Degree Producers report on community colleges that have experienced the most success in awarding degrees to minority students. Lake Land College placed 89 out of all colleges in the country in awarding African American students associate degrees in the liberal arts and sciences, general studies and humanities category. According to its website, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education has been working for 30 years to provide information that is honest, thorough, and balanced, and stands alone as the only source of critical news, information and insightful commentary on the full range of issues concerning diversity in American higher education. To see all the rankings of higher education institutions and how they compare in awarding degrees at diverseeducation.com/top100. The ALS degree is a non-traditional degree for students who may have accumulated a variety of credits in different programs. It requires fewer and more flexible general education requirements than a traditional associate in arts or science degree, with the bulk of the program comprised of electives. Elective credit is earned for an unlimited number of career and technical level courses as well as transfer level courses. These programs are a good fit for students who need an associate degree in an unspecified field of study to qualify for initial employment or for a promotion. When appropriate general education courses are selected, the ALS degree can transfer well to non-traditional bachelor’s degree programs. Visit lakelandcollege.edu for more information on how to get started at Lake Land College.
Lake Land College Important Dates for Semester Change Posted on December 13, 2018 With the fall semester coming to a close and spring semester right around the corner, Lake Land College will have varied office hours for the upcoming winter holiday season. The following are important upcoming dates and hours of operation: 20- Final day to return textbooks for Fall. 24 – Jan. 1 – College closed. 2 – Services resume; Textbook pick-up begins. 4 – 10 a.m.-7 p.m. extended registration. Offices closed from 8-10 a.m. 7 – First day of classes for spring semester. 1 – Foundation scholarship application due. For more information or to get started visit lakelandcollege.edu.
St. Louis Cardinals Coming to Lake Land College Posted on December 10, 2018 Lake Land College Athletics and Mattoon High School Baseball are sponsoring the St. Louis Cardinal Caravan on Sunday, January 20 at 12:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Lake Land College Field House. Doors open at 11:00 a.m. There is no preferred seating. Tickets can be purchased at the Laker Athletics office in the Field House or at Washington Savings Bank. The Laker Athletics office will be open Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through December 21, and January 2 and 3. On Friday, January 4 the office will reopen from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Monday – Friday, thereafter, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The cost of the ticket is $10 and includes a hot dog, chips and drink. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door. According to the Cardinals Caravan website, the first 400 children, 15 and under, through the door on the day of the event will receive a free autograph ticket which guarantees one autograph from each current and former player. Due to high demand, autographs will only be available for fans 15 and under. All attendees have a chance to talk baseball with current players, alumni and broadcasters. Attending players for the Mattoon stop will be announced closer to the event date. The 2019 Cardinal Caravan is presented by Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance and is sponsored by Lake Land College Athletics and Mattoon High School Baseball. For more information, visit mlb.com/cardinals/community/caravan or contact Wrobria Roberts, administrative assistant to field house operations, at 217-234-5333 or at wroberts52500@lakelandcollege.edu.
Renowned Genetics Educator Speaks at Lake Land College Posted on World-renowned human genetics educator Dr. Sam Rhine spoke at a Genetics Update Conference hosted by Lake Land College, Thursday, Dec. 6. Described by experts in the human genetics field as the most effective human genetics educator in America today, Rhine is the director of the Genetics Education Center near Indianapolis. He received the “Honorary Membership Award” by the National Association of Biology Teachers. The award is recognized as the highest honor bestowed on members of the profession and is awarded annually. Rhine has made more than 8,500 presentations to more than 3.75 million teenagers in the United States, Canada and Europe. Rhine is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Indiana in Bloomington in the Department of Applied Health Science where he teaches a summer class on “Causes and Prevention of Birth Defects.” He also teaches summer classes at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and the University of Texas Pan AM campus in Edinburg, Texas. He has lectured in London, Prague, Montreal, and Tokyo and taught human genetics in St. Petersburgh States in St. Petersburgh, Russia. For more information visit www.samrhine.com. The conference, sponsored by the Lake Land College Math and Science Division, and coordinated by biology instructor, Brenda Hunzinger, was open to students, teachers, staff, and the entire community. Approximately 250 individuals, including many high school, college, and university students, were in attendance. Topics of discussion for this year’s conference included multifactorial inheritance, gene editing, and tissue engineering.
Lake Land College Offers Dance Classes Posted on December 6, 2018 Lake Land College is offering a series of dance classes in Mattoon and Effingham from January to May. Five different dance styles will be offered including Country Slow Dance, Country Waltz, Night Club 2 Step, Swing, and West Coast Swing. Classes will meet at both Lake Land College West Building Atrium and Effingham Emergency Management Agency Building. Students can choose either location. Instructors Scott and Cheryl Sweet have been teaching dance for many years. The cost is $38 for four sessions of class. To register, go to lakelandcollege.edu/learn – choose the class date, and enroll. Drop date for a refund is five business days prior to the class. For more information, contact Jackie Wake, professional development support, at 217-234-5087 or email jwake@lakelandcollege.edu.
Lake Land College Paris Plastics Manufacturing Program Press Conference Posted on November 29, 2018 Lake Land College introduced the Paris community to its new plastics manufacturing program, the first of its kind in a 180-mile radius, on Thursday, Nov. 29. The program meets the region’s need for skilled employees in the plastics manufacturing industry. Students will gain hands-on experience in injection and extrusion molding processes and equipment coupled with basic maintenance and automation skills used for several positions in plastics manufacturing. “When Lake Land College approached us about using the VoTech Center to teach the classes, we thought it was a great opportunity for area residents to gain valuable skills,” said Paris Mayor Craig Smith. Paris Economic Development Organization Director Terry Elston also showed support for the Lake Land program at the press conference saying “We applaud Lake Land College for working with our area businesses leaders to develop a program that is so timely and relevant to our region.” The new program is a collaborative effort among several businesses, educational institutions and the community. Evening courses will be held for the first time beginning January 7 and will follow the semester schedule for the college, ending with finals the week of May 7. “Lake Land College is proud to offer the new major exclusively in the city of Paris and have the mayor and city’s council’s support in hosting the lab at this location,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said. Area companies such as North American Lighting and Libman Co. have already dedicated resources and funds to get the program started. “We are grateful to NAL for donating two (2) 90-ton injection molding presses and a die to use with them,” Bullock said, “Early in the development process, The Libman Company, joined NAL in assisting the college in creating the program. The company donated $10,000 to the college as well as two used dies for the injection molding press.” “We are also grateful to Eastern Illinois University for donating several pieces of equipment to be used in the lab,” Bullock said. The Lake Land College Foundation also gifted an electric Toshiba 180-ton injection molding press. “We are fortunate to be a part of the new manufacturing program that will provide opportunities for residents to train for a career and will assist businesses in meeting the need for a highly skilled workforce,” Foundation Board President Michael Bohannon said. To learn more about the new plastics program contact Michael Beavers, division chair of technology/electronics engineering instructor, at 217-234-5341 or mbeavers@lakelandcollege.edu. To enroll in the courses, visit lakelandcollege.edu and select the “Enroll Now” button.
Lake Land College to Host LaunchCode Informational Night Posted on Lake Land College host an informational session about the new online IT-LaunchCode program on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Kluthe Center for Higher Education and Technology in Effingham. Lake Land College and LaunchCode are partnering to offer students an opportunity to train for a career in the fast growing field of web application development in just 20 weeks. Students will gain skills in Python, C#, SQL and full-stack development. Those who complete the program will earn a Lake Land College certificate as well as the opportunity to test for eight industry-leading Microsoft certifications. The course will be offered online from Jan. 28–June 27. James Munger, Lake Land College IT instructor/program coordinator, IT-Web Technology, who will be teaching the classes, will be available to meet with interested students. Enrollment in the program is limited. The deadline to apply is Jan. 23 and an aptitude test is required. A practice test, FAQ and list of steps to get started can be found on the High Demand Programs page at lakelandcollege.edu/it-launchcode. Lake Land College representatives will be available to help students get started with the enrollment process or financial aid. The program is offered through a collaborative agreement between the college and LaunchCode, an innovative non-profit providing job seekers opportunities to enter the technology field. Jim McKelvey, the co-founder of Square, the payments processing company, founded LaunchCode to create pathways for people seeking careers in technology. For more information about the informational meeting contact Munger at 217-234-5326 or jmunger@lakelandcollege.edu. For more information about the IT-LaunchCode certificate program visit lakelandcollege.edu/it-launchcode.
Press Conference Announcing New Paris Plastics Manufacturing Program to be held November 29 Posted on November 28, 2018 What: A press conference announcing Lake Land College’s new plastics manufacturing program with education, business and community leaders speaking on the value and impact of this new evening program held exclusively in Paris. The Lake Land College Plastics Manufacturing is the first of its kind in a 180-mile radius. The program will provide a well-trained workforce to meet the needs of area plastics manufacturing companies. Where: The Vo-Tech Center, located in the former Paris High School, 55 W Crawford St. Paris, IL 61944 When: Thursday, November 29 at 9 a.m. Central Standard Time Photo/Video Opportunities: The plastics press conference will be held in a lab setting highlighting industry leading manufacturing equipment that will be used in class. For more information about the press conference contact Kelly Allee, director of marketing & public relations, at kallee@lakelandcollege.edu or 217-234-5215. For information about the plastics program visit: https://www.lakelandcollege.edu/high-demand-programs/plastics-manufacturing/
Lake Land College Congratulates First IT-LaunchCode Graduating Class Posted on The first class of Lake Land College’s new IT-LaunchCode completed the 20-week web development program in October. The new IT-LaunchCode program offers students an opportunity to train for a career in the fast growing field of web application development. In just 20 weeks, students gained skills in Python, C#, SQL and full stack web development. Those who complete the program earned a Lake Land College certificate as well as the opportunity to test for eight industry-leading Microsoft certifications. Web programmers and coders are in high demand. The US Department of Labor, bls.gov, estimates that 1 million coding jobs will go unfilled by 2020 and that employment of web developers is projected to grow 32 percent through 2026. James Munger, IT instructor, program coordinator, IT-web technology and LaunchCode instructor, said some of his best students were people with little prior knowledge of computer science. “One was a fork lift driver for seven years. Another one worked at Quad Graphics on the factory floor for 20 years and now is talking about getting his PhD in mathematics,” Munger said. With the skills that one student gained in the course she was able to create her own inventory app to keep track of ingredients she used in her micro-brewing business. “She built that app herself and it works,” Munger said. “The technology that she used to do that is the same technology they used to do LinkedIn and Pinterest.” The boot camp format is ideal for those who enjoy coding as a hobby, those who are seeking to advance in their careers or those who are good at logic puzzles and troubleshooting. Students can expect the program to be largely hands-on and project-based. “The LaunchCode program for web development stacks directly into top of my two year associates degree for web development,” If you have completed the LaunchCode program you have basically completed a fourth of the associates program. One student that recently completed the program, Patrick Pape, said that he was impressed with the content the course covered. “The depth and breadth of topics covered was fascinating. From operating systems, hardware, program languages, servers, web browsers, and database management; the foundation for understanding has been firmly established.” “I really would recommend this program to someone interested in the field. The course is accessible to people of really any age, and without much familiarity with coding,” Pape said. The next IT-LaunchCode class will begin January. Students interested in IT-LaunchCode need to apply by January 23, 2019. An aptitude test is required. Classes will meet in an online format, including some optional lab nights at Lake Land College in Mattoon from Jan. 28, 2019 through June 27, 2019. The class is available until all seats are filled. For more information, visit lakelandcollege.edu/high-demand-programs/it-launchcode/. LaunchCode is an innovative non-profit providing job seekers opportunities to enter the technology field. Jim McKelvey, the co-founder of Square, the payments processing company, founded LaunchCode to create pathways for people seeking careers in technology. Lake Land College is partnering with LaunchCode with the support of The Effingham Regional Growth Alliance, the countywide economic development organization. The Alliance will be seeking local companies and individuals who are interested in supporting students with scholarships or internship opportunities.
Lake Land College offers a Crochet and Cocoa Class Posted on November 26, 2018 Lake Land College is offering a Crochet and Cocoa class at the Workforce Development Center, 305 Richmond Avenue East, Mattoon. The two-hour class will be held Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 and meet from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Students will be treated to a yummy hot cocoa bar while Instructor Shirley Splittstoesser teaches the method of crocheting a scarf. These will make wonderful Christmas gifts, or keep you warm during the winter. A selection of colorful yarns will be included. Students will need to bring an “H” crochet hook (5.00mm), “I” hook (5.50mm), or a “J” hook (6.00mm) depending on the preference of scarf thickness. Those who want a closer weave will use the smaller hook while the larger hook produces a larger weave. Previous crocheting experience is not necessary. The cost is $25 for the class. To register, go to https://www.lakelandcollege.edu/learn. Drop date for a refund is five business days prior to the class. For more information, contact Jackie Wake, professional development support, at 217-234-5087 or email jwake@lakelandcollege.edu.