Harold Washington College and Illinois Institute of Technology

Harold Washington College and IIT have long enjoyed a productive relationship over the last decade. In Spring 2009, at the recommendation of Mr. Leroy Kennedy, VP for Community Affairs at IIT, and Mr. John Hader, Associate Dean of Instruction at HWC, the two institutions have moved significantly forward in extending relationships among a variety of offices including financial aid, admission, international student centers, and minority student affairs as well as academic units.
The development of a comprehensive recruitment and transition program will allow HWC to identify highly qualified students for transfer to IIT. This partnership will allow IIT to enhance its orientation and academic advising programs for these students, ensuring the highest level of success.
Our goal is to develop a unique partnership among our institutions which will serve as a model program for other urban community colleges and universities; a partnership which provides a strong and confident message to secondary school students, resuming students, international students, immigrant students and undocumented students that there are strong, vibrant and developed pathway programs to support an individual's goals and aspirations.
Our goal is to develop an institutional partnership built on the foundation of a community of strong professional and personal commitments by the staff and faculty at each institution.
At IIT, the Office of Admission is committed to partnering with our lead colleagues — Ms. Rosalind Harris (HWC) and Mr. John Hader (HWC) — on a number of initiatives, including but not limited to:
- A series of one-stop admission and review sessions at HWC
- An HWC day at IIT's two annual IPRO days on campus
- A reserved number of Undergraduate Research Summer Scholarships with a $5,000 stipend for HWC students
- Merit-scholarships of up to $12,000 per year for HWC students
- Phi Theta Kappa Scholarships of $5,000 per year for HWC students who are members of PTK
- An annual symposium of HWC, other City Colleges and IIT to explore further initiatives to enhance our relationship

A final note: At IIT, we very much value the contributions that the HWC faculty and staff make in the education of their students who matriculate at IIT. HWC students have successfully matriculated after completing their Associates degree or after completing a semester or two at HWC. Each of these students in their essays mentions the specific role that HWC has provided in their transition to IIT.

Current HWC student Dia reflects on a recent visit to IIT:

I cannot thank HWC and IIT enough for envisioning such a wonderful initiative, and if I can be of any assistance to my peers, then I consider that a great honor.

I had always hounded my advisors, deans, and even the President of my school to come up with some way of helping out International students who have a lot to bring to the table. So, now that there is something in place, as the acting President of Psych Club - Psi Beta and as an active Senator in the SGA, I consider it my responsibility to pass on all the positive words to the relevant student groups.

I look forward to continually support this initiative.

For information on the Harold Washington College and Illinois Institute of Technology accelerated admission process, view this PDF.

For information on the transfer process to IIT, visit our Transfer Students page.