Rend Lake College (RLC) is a public community college in Ina, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System (ICCS).
History
Rend Lake College was founded in 1955 as Mt. Vernon Community College to allow students from High School District No. 201 the opportunity to receive post-secondary education similar to university curriculum. Authorized by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. in 1961, the legislation enacted created the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). The IBHE was tasked by statute with formulating a Master Plan for Higher Education in the state of Illinois. In July 1964 the higher education master plan was published by the IBHE, which led to the Junior College Act of 1965. Soon thereafter, the institution was officially renamed Rend Lake College when it was organized December 20, 1966.
The Mt. Vernon Township High School and its faculty served as the initial facilities for the college when it began in 1967. The college began with a staff of 29 full-time and eight part-time faculty members, two full-time administrators and a librarian. Soon after its organization, the RLC Board of Trustees selected a site near Ina, Illinois, located between Interstate 57 and Rend Lake, and began planning a new campus. Voters approved a bond issue of $3.1 million in 1967, to provide for the districts local share of the $9.5 million total cost. Groundbreaking ceremonies for construction were held March 27, 1969, coinciding with the day the college received word of its first North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation.
The first five buildings of the campus, including Academic, Science, Gymnasium, the South Oasis and Maintenance buildings were ready for occupancy by August 1970, with classes beginning that fall. Phase II and III construction, which included five more buildings began in the Spring of 1971. Phase II and III construction were complete by 1975, which led to RLC becoming the first community college in Illinois to complete its entire facilities master plan. Major remodeling of the Administration Building took place during 1999-2000 and nearly doubled its size while centralizing almost all student service functions in one building. In 2002, off-campus changes occurred with the addition of the Rend Lake College MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon and the Rend Lake College Murphy-Wall Pinckneyville Campus. In Fall 2005, the Applied Science Center opened on the southwest corner of campus. This facility houses the Agricultural Business, Agricultural Production, Agricultural Mechanics, Heavy Equipment and Diesel Technology programs. On August 7, 2008, RLC broke ground on the new Coal Mining Training Center, a training facility located next to the Mark Kern Applied Science Center. The college received $1.07 million in grant funding from Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the construction of the facility, alongside a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to train students in the mining industry. One year later on August 11, 2009, the new facility held its first open house to the public.
Campus
Rend Lake College currently has its main campus in Ina, Illinois. A second learning center for classes, known as the RLC Murphy-Wall Pinckneyville Campus was opened in Pinckneyville, Illinois. In addition to RLC's two credit learning campuses, the college holds non-credit classes at its RLC Marketplace location. Located in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, the RLC Marketplace houses shops and businesses as a part of RLC curriculum.
In addition to the degrees it offers at its two campuses, Rend Lake College currently operates two satellite campuses at local correctional facilities under contract with the Illinois Department of Corrections. RLC holds vocational and rehabilitative classes at IDOC facilities, which are closed to the public.
Academics and demographics
Rend Lake College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.