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Heartland Community College outlines strategic plan for Pontiac campus, seeks local partnerships
Summary
Heartland Community College trustees presented a draft regional strategic plan for the Pontiac campus, identifying workforce needs (health care, CDL, CTE) and set measurable enrollment and completion goals through 2031, and asked the city for help locating certified training space and grant leads.
Heartland Community College trustees presented a draft regional strategic plan for the Pontiac campus on Monday night, asking Pontiac leaders to help the college connect with local employers and identify certified space to deliver nursing and allied-health training.
Becky Rupp, chair of Heartland’s board of trustees, said the plan grew from a 2024 environmental scan and a listening tour conducted January through May with Northern Illinois University. The scan found a lower labor-force participation rate in Livingston County (about 58 percent), demand for health-care workers and technical-education training, and a Pontiac Township high-school cohort in which 43.5 percent of graduates were not heading to college — well above the district average of 28 percent.
Janet Hood, vice chair and finance committee chair, summarized 30 listening sessions with local employers and stakeholders that validated those findings and flagged barriers — including transportation, childcare availability and confusion about short-term credential pathways that can quickly lead to living-wage jobs.
The trustees laid out measurable goals they hope to reach by 2031: graduate roughly 20 nursing/CNA or health-related certificate students annually; produce 40 annual career-and-technical-education certificate completers aligned with local employers; support 20 ESL students and 40 GED completions annually; and help about 12 residents earn CDLs each year. Chris Downing, who supports regional campuses, described early examples of students who succeeded when staff guided them directly from neighborhood outreach into course enrollment.
The college asked the city to help identify state-certified training space for clinical and CNA instruction, provide introductions to potential industry partners and grant funders, and coordinate on transportation solutions. Heartland staff said they are already discussing possible partnerships with OSF and local retirement communities for clinical teaching space, but stressed that some hospital teaching spaces may need modification to meet state program standards.
Councilors and community members asked whether Heartland offers transfer and degree pathways in addition to certificates; college staff said the Pontiac campus serves many students pursuing associate degrees and that most certificate programs are intentionally stackable so students can add credentials over time. Staff also described online and hybrid options for upper-level ESL and other courses while noting lower online success rates at introductory ESL levels.
Becky Rupp and April Reneiro invited council members to tour the Pontiac campus and offered to coordinate follow-up on grants and facility possibilities. No formal city action was taken; the presentation closed with an invitation for continued collaboration.
