College District and Residency Requirements

Students who are United States citizens or permanent residents of the United States and have occupied a dwelling within the district for at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the semester will be classified as residents of the Rend Lake College district.

The college is comprised of the following high school districts: Benton, Christopher, Hamilton County, Mt. Vernon, Norris City-Omaha-Enfield, Pinckneyville, Sesser-Valier, Thompsonville, Waltonville, Wayne City, Webber, Woodlawn, Zeigler-Royalton.

In order to verify residency information, a certification statement is included requiring a signature on the New Student Enrollment Form which reads as follows: "By checking in-district, I am certifying that I have been a resident of the RLC District (own or occupy a dwelling in the district) for 30 days prior to THE BEGINNING OF CLASSES." Also, above the signature line, the following statement is included: "I understand that withholding or falsifying information on this application may result in ineligibility for admission to or dismissal from Rend Lake College. I further certify that all information on this application is complete and correct." Appropriate follow-up will be pursued by college personnel if deemed necessary to verify this certification, including sending correspondence to the mailing address and placing registration "holds" for proof of residency.

Rend Lake College will accept the following forms of residency documentation when evidence of residency is requested: driver's license, automobile license registration, voter registration card, proof of ownership and/or occupancy of a residence, utility or telephone bill, property tax statement, or other item providing address verification as determined acceptable by the Director of Student Records. In some instances, students may need to review their property tax statement for residency status.

Students who are United States citizens or permanent residents of the United States and whose residence is outside the boundaries of the Rend Lake College district shall be classified as out-of-district students.

Out-of-district Illinois students are charged a tuition fee equal to 150% of the highest in-district tuition rate of any neighboring contiguous community college.

The tuition charged will vary from year to year based on the highest tuition assessed by neighboring community colleges. Official tuition rates can be found here.

In addition, the out-of-district tuition may be waived for a student who is enrolled in a course being provided under terms of a contract for services between the employer and the college.

Students who have not occupied a dwelling within the State of Illinois for at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the semester or who declare their permanent residence to be outside the State of Illinois are classified as out-of-state residents.

The tuition charged will vary from year to year based on the actual in-district tuition rate. The actual tuition charged is determined by March for the coming school year. Applicable fees associated with certain classes also will be charged to the students.

In addition, the out-of-state tuition may be waived for a student who is enrolled in a course being provided under terms of a contract for services between the employer and the college.

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into by and among the BOARD OF TRUSTEES from each participating community college for the expressed purpose of providing additional educational programs to the citizens of each district involved in this Agreement.

• Black Hawk College
• Carl Sandburg College
• City Colleges of Chicago
• College of DuPage
• College of Lake County
• Danville Area Community College
• Elgin Community College
• Heartland Community College
• Highland Community College
• Illinois Central College
• Illinois Eastern Community College
• Illinois Valley Community College
• John A. Logan College
• John Wood Community College
• Joliet Junior College
• Kankakee Community College
• Kaskaskia College
• Kishwaukee College
• Lake Land College
• Lewis and Clark Community College
• Lincoln Land Community College
• McHenry County College
• Moraine Valley Community College
• Morton College
• Oakton Community College
• Parkland College
• Prairie State College
• Rend Lake College
• Richland Community College
• Rock Valley College
• Sauk Valley Community College
• Shawnee Community College
• South Suburban College
• Southwestern Illinois College
• Spoon River College
• Triton College
• Waubonsee Community College
• William Rainey Harper College

It is the desire of Rend Lake College to expand educational services to the greatest number of students in each district by establishing a viable method of cooperation to share programs of each institution and thereby maximize the utilization of the finances, facilities, equipment, and personnel of each institution, and by so doing, provide educational services which might otherwise be impracticable for any of the colleges individually. RLC believes that the implementation of this agreement holds great promise for further development of higher education in Illinois. This agreement supersedes and takes the place of any and all prior cooperative agreements, and that all said prior agreements are hereby terminated.

Institutional Identification

For the purpose of this Agreement, the college district sending the students to another college will be referred to as the "Sending College" and the college receiving students from another college district will be referred to as the "Receiving College".

Terms of Agreement

The educational programs offered by the colleges as part of this Agreement shall be programs approved by the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Board of Higher Education. The Agreement is explicitly for programs of study leading to an Associate in Applied Science degree or certificate in Career and Technical Education.

Duration of Agreement

This Agreement shall be in force upon adoption by the Board of Trustees of each of the participating colleges and will continue until terminated under the provision of item 6.

Amendments to Agreement

Amendments and/or revisions to this Agreement may be made at a time by mutual consent of all parties in writing. Such amendments and/or revisions shall be prepared in the form of an addendum agreement. The procedure for approval ofsuch addenda and/or revisions shall follow the same procedure employed in securing approval by all parties in the original Agreement. In the event of amendments and/or revisions to this Agreement, students who have entered an educational program shall be allowed to complete the program under the terms of this Agreement.

Coordination of Agreement

This Agreement shall commence in April 2007 and shall be continuous with automatic renewal. Illinois Central College in consultation with member institutions will coordinate changes and distribution of those changes to the other colleges on an annual basis when necessary.

Termination of Agreement

The participation of any college(s) in this Agreement may be terminated at the end of any spring semester to be in effect the following fall term at the request of the College President. Notice shall be given in writing on or before March 1 of the preceding academic year to each of the other College Presidents. In the event ofsuch termination, students who have entered an educational program shall be allowed to complete the program under the terms of this Agreement.

Citizens Eligibility

Approval for students participating within this Agreement resides with the Sending College. Upon approval from the Sending College, a citizen may take advantage of the educational opportunity provided through this Agreement to apply for acceptance at a program not available in his/her home district. Furthermore, a citizen may not enroll under the provisions of this Agreement in a program of a participating institution outside of his/her own ifthat citizen's educational objective can be met in the college of his/her home district.

Registration

Upon written approval from the Sending College, students shall register at the Receiving College and shall be members of that district for the terms of their enrollments. Under the terms of this agreement, students may take approved courses at either institution. Upon successful completion, courses taken at the Sending College shall be acceptable to transfer to the Receiving College for completion of the program, or vice versa.

Additional Educational Services

The Receiving College shall provide access to its Learning Resources Center and other instructional resources for students from the Sending College, equal to those provided for any other student at their campus. The Receiving College shall also provide counseling/guidance and other services that will facilitate the learning process.

Records and Recognition of Completion

The Receiving College shall maintain admissions records and transcripts and issue any and all degrees or certificates to students completing the educational program. The Receiving College will provide copies of such records to the Sending College at the student's request.

Scholarships and Student Activities

The Receiving College shall be considered the home district for athletic eligibility and/or any activity where the student officially represents an institution as well as for military and Illinois State Student Assistance Commission Scholarships. Athletic eligibility will be determined by the rules of the college's athletic conference. Students from any Sending College may be eligible at any Receiving College for any other extracurricular activities, scholarships, or other recognition of excellence in the program for which they are attending at the Receiving College.

Publicity

The educational programs offered through this Agreement shall be noted in college catalogs and publicized by the participating districts in a manner consistent with ICCB requirements and institutional publicity policies. Marketing of programs into another college district will only be done with the permission of that district.

Communication of Agreement

The Sending College shall communicate the terms of this Agreement to its students attending a Receiving College. Said students will be responsible for all normal operating rules and conditions of the campus he/she is on at any given time.

Reimbursement

The Receiving College shall be eligible to file all claims for State apportionment for any student from the Sending College enrolled in the Receiving College's programs covered by this Agreement.

Transportation

Students shall be responsible for their own transportation to and from Sending and Receiving Colleges.

Tuition and Fees

Students from the Sending College will pay the resident tuition and fees ofthe Receiving College. All students seeking state or federal financial assistance are required to make application at the Receiving College.

FTE Reporting

For purposes of capital (construction space), FTE enrollment in the classes taken are reported by the Receiving College.

Student Enrollments

The cooperating institutions in this Agreement shall be treated as one district in relation to admission policies for the programs included herein; however, residents of the respective college districts may have priority consideration where limited program space is available.

Chargeback

Colleges sending students to receiving colleges identified in this Agreement will not pay chargebacks. Procedurally, students who wish to enroll at a Receiving College herein identified will secure from their home college a letter designating them as participants in an approved program. A copy of such letter will be sent to the Receiving College, which will thus know not to charge the out-of-district rate.

Special Note: Nothing contained in this Agreement shall operate to create a relationship of Principal and Agent between the Parties.