A new year means new energy at Kishwaukee College
Fall is a wonderful time on a college campus. It’s the start of a new school year and the start of a new educational journey for so many people. Kish is no exception — our campus looks beautiful and is once again alive with the positive energy of students, faculty and staff.
The Fall of 2022 is significant for us. We have increased fall enrollment for the
first time in 11 years. More students are returning to campus for face-to-face instruction.
The challenges we have faced and the changes we have made to better serve our students
have been significant. We believe the increased enrollment demonstrates that Kish
is important to our stakeholders, with a constant focus on student success and serving
the educational needs of our local communities.
While the last three years have been a challenge, there have been positive outcomes. For the third year in a row, we have not raised our tuition or fees. We have implemented additional instructional and support services for our students, including 24/7 mental health support. We have embraced technology in our classrooms and will continue to move quality online instruction forward with the guidance of our Faculty Innovation Center, which opened on campus this fall.
There are still challenges that we will face in the future as the number of high school graduates continues to decline. Unemployment rates are low, and good job opportunities mean fewer adults are attending college. These factors make it even more important that we find alternative and creative ways to serve working adults, ensuring they have easy access to higher education while balancing work, family, and other life responsibilities. We know that higher education transforms people’s lives and makes our communities stronger.
The College is looking forward to implementing several initiatives this year, one of which is an update to our 2018 Strategic Plan. Kish has been responsive to the significant changes in our world over the last few years, and the updates to our College Strategic Plan will be reflective of the work we are doing today and going forward. Thank you to many people providing input, including faculty, staff, students, the community, and our Board of Trustees. We look forward to rolling out the new College Strategic Plan in October.
Another significant project for this year is the development of a Kishwaukee College Statement on Civility. It will be reflective of how we, as a campus community, work together, demonstrating respect, compassion, and kindness. We believe education should be a leader in modeling the behavior we want to see in our world, recognizing the significant role higher education plays in our democracy.
I am proud to lead Kish and look forward to the many good things to come this year for our students and communities.
#Kishproud
Dr. Laurie S. Borowicz
President, Kishwaukee College