West Chicago campus could triple in size

The College of DuPage is planning to triple the size of its West Chicago campus, hoping in turn to accept an additional 1,000 students annually.

That means the site can expand beyond primarily English as a Second Language courses and add regular college credit classes.

There are also plans for a program to benefit West Chicago Community High School.

Students could enroll in college classes while still in high school. They would take courses at the satellite campus during the first or last class period of their day so it wouldn't interfere with the rest of their schedule, said Terry Fuller, COD director of academic services.

The high school students could take the classes as early as next fall, if everything falls into place as scheduled.

The Glen Ellyn-based college opened the West Chicago location at the Lorlyn Plaza in 2005. Last school year, 1,886 students took classes there over three semesters.

If trustees approve increasing the size from 2,480 square feet to 7,880 square feet, officials project an enrollment at around 2,829 annually.

Three types of classes now are offered at the West Chicago site: ESL, adult basic education and GED. Adult basic education classes are for students who may have basic English skills down pat and need academic assistance before enrolling in the GED course, Fuller said.

Officials are hoping that by broadening the range of classes, they'll also increase the demographics of the students. This past year, 69 percent of the students were West Chicago residents, 11 percent were from Warrenville, and the remainder were from across the area. Seventy percent were between 20 and 39 years old, Fuller said.

Hispanic students comprised 91 percent of the enrollees.

"That's why we want to expand the offerings, so we expand other minority students as well as majority students," Fuller said.

The plan is to complete the construction at the larger site in the existing complex by January so classes can move in time for the spring semester, said Tom Ryan, COD vice president for administrative affairs.

If it's not finished by then, the move will have to wait until the end of spring semester so it doesn't interfere with students.

Trustees are scheduled to vote on the expansion at their Oct. 18 meeting.