Heartland Community College

Heartland Community College is a community college located in Illinois. Founded in 1991, Heartland Community College is a fully accredited institution with campuses located in Normal, Lincoln, and Pontiac.

History

The state of Illinois is divided into community college districts. Students desiring to attend a community college in Illinois are expected to attend the community college for the district in which they live. Prior to 1991, the entire state of Illinois was covered by community college districts except a portion of central Illinois centered on Bloomington. Students living in this non-districted area were in the unique situation of being allowed the choice of attending any of the surrounding four districts' community colleges. But in 1991, Heartland Community College was established, with its first "campus" located in a strip mall in Towanda Plaza, in Bloomington. The College moved to the current campus in 2000 and closed the last building in the strip mall in 2007.

Campus

Heartland Community College consists currently of four buildings on the main campus in Normal, IL. Three of the buildings are connected by walkways on the second floor that cross over Community College Drive,

Approaching the campus from the east, the first of the buildings is the CCB, or Community Commons Building. This building is where new students may register for classes and get information. This building also houses the Financial Aid department and the Human Resources department. Directly connected to this building by way of the walkway on the second floor is the SCB, or Student Commons Building.

The SCB houses the Cafe, student bookstore, library, security desk, and IT department, The SCB is aligned perpendicular to the CCB and the third main building, the ICB, or Instructional Commons Building.

The ICB is connected to the north end of the SCB's second floor by a walkway, and is actually twice as long from end to end as either the SCB or CCB, and has an open meeting area in the middle of its length on the first floor. The northwest quarter of this area is a designated smoking area. It houses the math department offices and other department offices. This is also where all of the classes are held besides the workforce development center.

The newest building on campus is the WDC, or Workforce Development Center. This building was erected in 2007 at the north end of the campus grounds, and opened for classes that fall. It is intended to be a "green" building, with heating and cooling being provided by geothermal energy and other eco-friendly technology. Standing over three stories tall, including the fourth floor maintenance area, it is the tallest building on campus, and is where the vast majority of technology-focused classes are held.

Renovations/Additions

Heartland has recently began renovations which would double the campus's current size. Heartland has planned to add by 2010: 3 new sports complexes including a Gymnasium, Soccer Field, and Baseball Field. Other buildings are a Student Center, Fitness Center, Classroom Building, Multipurpose Auditorium/Business Conference Center, Child-Care Center and Receiving Building. These additions are estimated to take enrollment from 4,500 to nearly 8,000.

As of December 8, 2008, groundwork has begun on five of the additions. The Child Care Center, situated at the northeast corner of the current campus, is already near completion and is scheduled to open for the Spring 2009 semester. Along the east side of the campus, the framework for the Fitness & Recreation Center and the Community Education Center are in an advanced stage of completion, but significant work still needs to be done before the facilities will be available to the students and faculty.

To the north of the ICB, work on the ICB II building, which will be situated perpendicular to the current ICB and connected with a skyway, has progressed significantly as well. Groundwork has begun on the Student Center, located at the north end of the SCB, but no significant construction has been completed as of this point in time.

In addition to the Hawks baseball, softball, and soccer teams, the on-campus stadium The Corn Crib will be home to the Frontier League's Normal CornBelters when they begin play in 2010.

Sports

Heartland's sports teams are known as the Hawks. The Hawks compete in soccer (men's and women's), baseball, and softball. The Hawks joined the Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) as part of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

External links

• Bloomington-Normal Wiki]-The community wiki that provides information about the Bloomington-Normal area created by Heartland students

• Heartland Hawks Athletic Department Website