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Public Relations and Marketing | Published Jun 24, 2021
With tech help on standby, College of Lake County (CLC) students survived a pandemic chapter of learning online. As more classes return to in-person learning this fall, there are still many busy students who prefer more flexible classes where they don’t have to travel to campus or sit at their computers at a certain time. This fall, CLC will offer four new programs entirely online in accounting, human services, supply chain management and a general associate in arts degree.
- Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree: This program features smart scheduling which lets students take 8-week classes on the same night(s) of the week while progressing toward their degree. Students can take two classes a semester without having to take them at the same time. Graduates with associate degrees earn 30 percent more on average over the course of their career than those with high school diplomas.
- Accounting: Learning online through CLC empowers students to learn in a flexible course format and earn a credential to gain employment in an in-demand field in Lake County and southeast Wisconsin. The accounting program prepares you for a career in accounting with skills such as compiling and analyzing business records and preparing financial reports such as income statements, balance sheets, costs studies and tax returns.
- Human Services: Earn your CADC (Certified Alcohol/Drug Counselor) online. Human service workers provide a variety of services aimed at improving clients’ lives. Through this accredited program and credential, human services professionals try to help every client make good decisions, find resources to overcome problems, and inspire the client to make improvements.
- Supply Chain Management: Created with founding partner Grainger, CLC’s supply chain management program focuses on the flow of materials end-to-end beginning at customer service and procurement and ending with delivery to the customer. Build your knowledge and learn skills needed to become a team lead or supervisor while preparing for a career focused on procurement, inventory management, warehousing, distribution, logistics and transportation.
In addition to these online programs, CLC listened to the recent employer needs in the pharmaceutical industry and created a new pharmacy technician certificate program. Pharmacy technicians are essential to healthcare, providing vital support to both pharmacists and patients. These jobs are in demand and allow graduates to work in the field of healthcare while helping others. It takes less than a year for students to earn their certificate and sit for the national Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE). Classes are offered online and at the Southlake Campus in Vernon Hills.
“When you talk about healthcare, pharmacy is like the center where the spokes converge on the industry wheel,” said Pharmacy Technician Program Director Dr. Derek Leiter. He recommends this pathway if students are interested in dipping their toe into a healthcare career.
Looking for a more creative job path? The Digital Media and Design program has five new certificates this fall where students gain job-ready skills in four areas of concentration: graphic design; web development and interactive design, animation and digital A/V production and editing. The college's expert faculty are excited to introduce students to the new professional recording studio at the Grayslake Campus.
“Students learn the fundamental in their first audio class, DMD 173: Introduction to Digital Sound, and then we move into the more advanced class, which is DMD 275: Audio Recording and Production,” said Digital Media and Design instructor Michael Kozien. “That’s when we go in and they record and engineer a full band from setup to recording, mixing to mastering. They learn every stage of the process to completion.”
Fall courses start Monday, Aug. 23. Enroll at www.clcillinois.edu/fall.
About College of Lake County
College of Lake County is a comprehensive community college committed to equitable high-quality education, cultural enrichment and partnerships to advance the diverse communities it serves in northeastern Illinois. Offered at three campuses in Grayslake, Vernon Hills and Waukegan or online, college classes are affordable and accessible to help each student achieve academic, career and personal goals. More than 70,000 students graduated with degrees and certificates since the college opened in 1969. College of Lake County is the only higher-education institution ranked among the top 15 best places to work in Illinois by Forbes and is a national leader in many areas, including sustainability and conservation.