Summer is a busy time at Waubonsee Community College

For many schools and colleges, summer tends to be the slowest time of the year.

At Waubonsee, however, the summer semester is an active time when we prepare for the upcoming academic year with comprehensive infrastructure projects, intensive instructional planning, and large-scale registration, planning and orientation sessions for new students.

This summer is shaping up to be the busiest in recent memory as the college is serving more than 7,000 students in summer classes while also preparing to deliver more educational opportunities to our community in the future.

In Aurora, Waubonsee's new downtown campus continues to take shape. Steelwork frames the 132,000-square-foot building that will house 52 classrooms, vastly expanding educational options for Aurorans. Students at the new campus, which will open in fall 2011, will be able to earn an associate degree entirely at the campus.

As work progresses, excitement, both from inside and outside of the college, continues to grow. The campus is a powerful and visible symbol of the bright future for Aurora. We hope that it will act as an anchor for the continued renaissance of downtown Aurora.

Anyone driving through Plano on Route 34 can see the progress on Waubonsee's new Plano Campus. This campus will soon begin to take shape as well. The Plano Campus, like Aurora, will be a comprehensive campus, enabling local residents to earn their associate degree entirely in Plano.

When open in spring 2011, the campus will significantly increase educational access for residents of communities along Route 34 including Yorkville, Plano, Sandwich, Somonauk and Leland. Both new campuses will house key student services such as class registration, academic counseling, and financial aid.

At Waubonsee's main campus in Sugar Grove, the work is no less intense than in Aurora and Plano. Here, the focus is on improving the infrastructure to enable the college to serve more students and community members this fall. Accessibility and sustainability are key elements of this project. A new parking lot being built this summer, using environmentally friendly permeable pavers, will make the college's library and auditorium significantly more accessible. These campus improvements also will include returning some of the surrounding landscape to its natural oak tree savanna habitat.

The level of activity this summer is unusual, given the current economy and unprecedented enrollment growth at the college. Because of economic pressures and job loss, more people are turning to education to improve their lives.

For more than 40 years Waubonsee has provided life-changing educational opportunities for nearly 270,000 students. And, we are thankful to be able to continue to meet the growing needs of our community as we look forward to a bright future.