As Illinois continues to wrestle with workforce shortages in key sectors including healthcare, advanced manufacturing, education, business and information technology, one common sense solution remains largely untapped: empowering community colleges like Spoon River College to offer bachelor’s degrees.
Currently, Illinois is among a minority of states that prohibits community colleges from granting baccalaureate degrees. Meanwhile, 24 other states—including Texas, Florida, and California—have paved the way for their community colleges to step up and fill critical education and labor market gaps. It’s time for Illinois to follow suit.
A Smarter, More Equitable Approach to Higher Education
Spoon River College serves a largely rural population across Fulton, McDonough, Mason, Schuyler and Knox counties. In West Central Illinois, many students are place-bound by family, jobs, or economic realities. Giving community colleges the authority to offer bachelor’s degrees in high-demand fields like health careers, advanced manufacturing, education, business administration, information technology, or rapidly emerging careers where programs do not currently exist, would make a four-year education more accessible, more affordable, and more aligned with the region’s economic needs.
Local Degrees for Local Jobs
Illinois’ workforce needs aren’t abstract, they’re urgent. Employers across West Central Illinois routinely struggle to find workers with four-year degrees in fields that don’t necessarily require research-intensive university programs but do demand advanced training. Spoon River College already offers strong associate degree programs in many of these areas. Allowing the college to build on that foundation with specialized bachelor’s degrees would directly feed local talent pipelines, retain talent in the region, and give local industries the skilled professionals they need.
Financial Efficiency and Student Success
Bachelor’s degrees from community colleges come at a fraction of the cost of traditional universities. By leveraging existing faculty, facilities, and partnerships, Spoon River College could deliver four-year programs, and students would benefit from reduced student loan debt, smaller class sizes, and the personal support systems they already trust.
Critics may argue that expanding community college missions could encroach on universities, but evidence from other states shows that community college baccalaureate programs are targeted, non-duplicative, and focused on degrees in fields of study that universities do not offer. The real impact is additive: more degree holders, stronger local economies, and upward mobility for students who would otherwise be left behind.
A Path Forward for Illinois
As Illinois lawmakers continue to explore education reform, enabling community college baccalaureate degrees should be a top priority. Spoon River College, with its proven commitment to workforce development and regional service, stands ready to be a model. The State must embrace the changing landscape of higher education so that it can meet the needs of today’s students and tomorrow’s economy.
Let’s create pathways to prosperity for our students, our communities, and our State. Please consider contacting your legislator if you support the idea of helping the West Central Illinois region become more economically viable.