11
Public
Universities
Convened by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and Illinois Community College Board, the Consortium is a collective of higher education institutions working together to increase access, persistence, and completion of credentials and degrees for the early childhood workforce in Illinois.
11
Public
Universities
41
Community
Colleges
10
Private
Non-Profit
Institutions
Member institutions, their representatives, and links to information about ECACE programs can be found here.
“The purpose of the Consortium is to serve the needs of the incumbent early childhood workforce and the employers of early childhood educators and to advance racial equity while meeting the needs of employers by streamlining, coordinating, and improving the accessibility of degree completion pathways for upskilling and the sustained expansion of educational pipelines at Illinois institutions of higher education.” (Public Act 102-0174)
These principles ground our fundamental values and inform how we interact and operate as a Consortium:
Center student success
Share leadership
Behave as equals
Respect Consortium agreements while accommodating institutional differences
Simplify student navigation
The collective goal of the Consortium is to have an additional 4,933 students enroll and persist or complete a credential or degree by September 2024.