A Plan to Keep Growing
The diversity of our district demands diversity in the academic programs and student support services we offer, and by extension, the students we enroll. Our goal is to make all our policies and processes as welcoming to students as possible.
Although just the beginning, Waubonsee’s Equity Plan was completed and submitted to the Partnership for College Completion, as part of the Illinois Equity in Attainment initiative with over 20 colleges and universities participating across the state.
The Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative (ILEA) Equity Plan is intended to serve as a roadmap for outlining how Waubonsee Community College will work toward closing gaps in degree attainment for low-income, first generation, African American, and Latinx students to increase equity and degree completion.
Neurodiversity Statement
Waubonsee Community College recognizes the value of neurodiversity* and is committed to fostering an authentically inclusive environment in which all neurodivergent students, employees, and community members feel respected and empowered.
*Neurodiversity is defined as a strength-based model of viewing conditions such as autism, ADD, and dyslexia as differences in individual brain function and behavioral traits and as part of normal variation in the human population.
Land Acknowledgement
The four campuses of Waubonsee Community College occupy the traditional homelands of the Peoria, Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Mascoutin, Myaamia (Miami), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (People of Seven Council Fires, also known as the Sioux Nation), Hoocąk (HoChunk), Kaskaskia, and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo). We respectfully acknowledge these individuals and communities, along with their cultures, stories, and struggles – past and present.
We honor Chief Waubonsee (Wah-bahn-se) of the Potawatomi, for whom our college is named, and the indigenous owners of the area we now occupy and whose dispossession allowed for the growth of this institution. As we acknowledge past injustices, we honor the historical stewardship of the land and recognize our responsibility for continued care and respect of the ancestral lands and traditions of the communities to whom we are indebted and to stand against injustice in our world today.
As an educational institution focused on access and equity, the college is committed to pairing this acknowledgement with action-leading to greater levels of respect and inclusivity in all our teaching, learning, and community building efforts.
