By Nate Gnau

Business Manager

The audience was all ears on Friday, as the study hall of the Reid Memorial Library held a roundtable discussion about college completion levels in the State of Illinois. Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon was the Guest of Honor in the discussion. Also in attendance were College President Dale Chapman, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Linda Chapman, Valorie Harris, Kent Scheffel, among many others.

Before the discussion began, Simon went on a tour of the Godfrey Campus facilities, and met with many faculty and staff.  One of the main focuses of the tour was a new way that the college is entrenching developmental English and Mathematics courses into college level courses, in an effort to keep student progress up to satisfactory levels.

When asked why she initiated the tour, Simon said; “We need to improve our higher education system today, so that our next generation of students graduate prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.”  Simon also said her ultimate goal is to increase amounts of working-age adults with degrees and certificates from 41 percent to 60 percent by the year 2025.