Partnership for College Completion

Today, the PCC Student Advisory Council (SAC) visited the Chicago office for their final meeting of the 2025-26 academic year. Our students proudly presented their end-of-year projects, identifying common socioeconomic barriers throughout Illinois' college campuses and proposing unique solutions to address the inequities that students often face while earning their degrees.

We look forward to seeing what these bright minds go on to achieve in their futures, and wish the best of luck to our cohort members who graduated this spring! 🎓️ 🌟

⏮️ State Representative La Shawn Ford has been a champion of higher education and PCC. Here's what he had to say when collaborating with us throughout the years.

More of : https://www.pccin10.org/

PCC joined with 18 organizations serving students, consumers, veterans, service members, faculty and staff, civil rights advocates, and college access proponents to urge the U.S. Department of Education to enact regulations that strengthen accountability in higher education while protecting both students and taxpayers from low-quality programs.

These 19 organizations are concerned that the proposed regulations fall short of the Department’s own stated goal, and risks replicating past failures. Additionally, these regulations would disproportionately affect low-income, Black, Latino, and first-generation students. Read our full comment here: https://protectstudentsandtaxpayers.org/ahead-comment-two-may-2026/

PCC and Chicago State University want to hear about your post-high school journey!

▪️ Why did you enroll (or not enroll) at your first-choice college?
▪️ Why did you stay enrolled?
▪️ Why did you stop attending, or return to college after some time away?

Participants selected for this study will receive at $75 electronic gift card. Learn more: https://bit.ly/BCLstudy

PCC announces the appointment of 𝐖𝐢𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐏𝐡.𝐃., as Board Chair, succeeding 𝐃𝐫. 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐄. 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝, who will transition from the role of Board Chair and continue serving as a Board member.

The Board leadership transition comes at an important time for PCC, as we celebrate our 10th anniversary throughout 2026 and prepare to debut our new strategic plan later in the year. https://partnershipfcc.org/the-partnership-for-college-completion-announces-board-leadership-transition/

Mike Abrahamson, PCC Director of Policy and Research, was featured on The Chicago Community Trust's "Trust Talks" podcast alongside other professionals within Illinois' space. The episode, "Transforming College Transfer Pathways in Illinois," highlights the need for Illinois to improve its community college-to-four-year transfer process, and how doing so would increase rates among these students.

Listen here: https://www.cct.org/stories/trust-talks-the-podcast-episode-25-transforming-college-transfer-pathways-in-illinois/

⏮️ Lisa Castillo Richmond, Ph.D. was a part of the PCC executive team since its founding in 2016, and led the organization as Executive Director from 2021 to 2025.

In celebration of our 10th anniversary, Dr. Castillo Richmond reflects on her time at PCC: https://buff.ly/EIGH2s7 |

We’re ! 📣

PCC is seeking a 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀! Based in Chicago, this full-time, hybrid role is ideal for those looking to create equitable education structures and improve student retention and graduation rates through programming and relationship management with Illinois' institutions.

Learn more and apply: https://buff.ly/wdNNyW9