Prairie State College

Location and Contact Information

202 South Halsted Street
Chicago Heights, IL 60411-8226
USA
Main Tel: (708) 709-3500
Web Site

The campus is in a large suburb.

Overview

Prairie State College is a 2-year community college situated in Chicago Heights, Illinois. PSC was established in the year 1958. Prairie State's campus is spread over an area of 120 acres. PSC offers an assortment of degrees and programs in varied areas of study. Chess Club, Phi Theta Kappa, Black Student Union and the Art Club are some of the clubs and organizations available to the students at PSC.

Prairie State College's athletic department offers a wide selection of sports for men and women, as it fields baseball, golf, volleyball, basketball and soccer temas. PSC's sports teams are known as the Pioneers.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

  • Many students concentrating in nursing and emergency medicine and nutrition and exercise therapy.
  • Superior share of faculty on tenure track.
  • High faculty salary.
  • Large number of students.
  • Racially diverse student body.
  • Large number of programs of study offered.
  • Many mature (40+ year old) students.

School characteristics:

  • The school is public.
  • Academic calender: Semester.
  • Carnegie classification: Associates Colleges.

Features of note:

  • Open admission; accepts all qualified candidates.
  • The school offers a faculty tenure system.
  • There are one or more libraries on-campus.
  • Students may study abroad.
  • Distance learning is available.
  • Weekend study is an option.
  • Part-time classes are available.
  • Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Tuition and Financial Aid (2009-2010)

ItemCost
State Tuition and fees$ 5,996
Out-of-state tuition and fees$ 8,108
Books and supplies$ 1,360

Financial Aid

Prairie State participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

In 2009-2010, 57% of students received financial aid of some sort.

Grants% of
Students		Average
Amount
Any Grant55%$4,133
Institutional Grant12%$1,740
Federal Grant46%$3,262
Pell Grant46%$3,197
Other Federal Grant11%$334
State or Local Grant35%$1,630

Loans% of
Students		Average
Amount
Student Loan4%$4,473
Federal Loan4%$4,473
Other Loan  

(Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.)

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Prairie State College:

Click a column header to sort.

 SchoolLocationEnrollment
1City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King CollegeChicago, IL6,873
2Laredo Community CollegeLaredo, TX8,256
3Prince George's Community CollegeLargo, MD12,110
4City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X CollegeChicago, IL7,201
5The University of Texas-Pan AmericanEdinburg, TX17,534
6City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey CollegeChicago, IL4,063
7Mercer County Community CollegeWest Windsor, NJ9,182
8Rose State CollegeMidwest City, OK8,132
9University of Maryland Eastern ShorePrincess Anne, MD4,290
10San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco, CA30,014

Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

DegreeTotal
Earned		Different
Programs
< 1 year certificate53122
Associate37520
1-2 year certificate5712

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Full-Time Faculty  Total
With tenure  52
Without tenure; working toward tenure  27

Students

Student enrollment was 5,368 in 2009-2010 (4,026 full-time equivalent).

Undergrads are 100% of enrolled students.

Students under 25 years old represent 55% of the student body. About 17% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Room and Board

On-campus housing is not available.

Graduate School Focus

The highest degree offered is the Associate.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (17 awarded)

  • Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping
  • Business/Commerce
  • Operations Management and Supervision

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (21 awarded)

  • Computer Programming/Programmer
  • Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
  • Data Processing and Data Processing Technology/Technician
  • Information Technology
  • Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design
  • Web/Multimedia Management and Webmaster

CONSTRUCTION TRADES (24 awarded)

  • Electrician

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (2 awarded)

  • Teacher Assistant/Aide

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN (9 awarded)

  • CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician
  • Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engr Technology/Technician
  • Manufacturing Technology/Technician
  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanical Technology/Technician

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (22 awarded)

  • Child Care Provider/Assistant

FINE ARTS (3 awarded)

  • Fine/Studio Arts

LIBERAL ARTS (202 awarded)

  • General Studies
  • Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies

MECHANICS AND REPAIR (44 awarded)

  • Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician
  • Computer Installation and Repair Technology/Technician
  • Heating/AC/Ventilation/Refrig Maint Technology/Technician
  • Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology

MEDIA (5 awarded)

  • Graphic Communications

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (46 awarded)

  • Dental Hygiene/Hygienist
  • Surgical Technology/Technologist

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (418 awarded)

  • Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)
  • Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)
  • Nurse/Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant
  • Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (23 awarded)

  • Health and Physical Education
  • Kinesiology and Exercise Science

OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATION (7 awarded)

  • Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science
  • Word Processing

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART (7 awarded)

  • Commercial Photography

PRODUCTION TRADES (15 awarded)

  • Cabinetmaking and Millwork/Millwright
  • Welding Technology/Welder

SCIENCE (42 awarded)

  • Biological and Physical Sciences

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (56 awarded)

  • Criminal Justice/Police Science
  • Fire Science/Fire-fighting