Northeastern Illinois University is one of five new institutions that have joined the Chicago Star Partnership, a group of four-year colleges and universities that have committed to providing scholarships to Chicago Star Scholars following their graduation from City Colleges of Chicago (CCC). The announcement was made Nov. 5 by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CCC Chancellor Cheryl Hyman at Malcolm X College.
Star Scholars are high-achieving Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduates who earn associate degrees and other certifications at City Colleges, and Northeastern has committed $250,000 each year to provide scholarships and guaranteed admission for 20 Star Scholars per year, also covering tuition, fees and textbooks. The award totals range by university.
“Northeastern has a long tradition of serving students from the City Colleges of Chicago. In fact, they are some of our best and brightest students,” Northeastern Provost Richard J. Helldobler said. “Our significant financial commitment to the Chicago Star Partnership reflects the University’s dedication to our historic mission of providing an exceptional environment for learning, teaching and scholarship. We look forward to working with City Colleges of Chicago to groom our future leaders that exercise responsible citizenship in our region and in our dynamic multicultural world.”
Mayor Emanuel and CCC launched the Star Scholarship in 2014. To qualify, CPS students must meet specific criteria to be chosen as Star Scholars at City Colleges of Chicago. Students meeting the criteria are offered waivers for all tuition and books for up to three years at City Colleges of Chicago. Students who do not meet the criteria but have achieved a 3.0 GPA may participate in remedial coursework until they demonstrate college-readiness, and then receive the scholarship and tuition waiver.
“By breaking down financial barriers to a college education, the Chicago Star Scholarship is opening up more pathways to the middle class for hard-working Chicago students and by expanding this partnership, we are taking our city’s commitment to making college more affordable to the next level,” Mayor Emanuel said.
The University of Chicago, Columbia College, North Park University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago have also joined DePaul University, Governors State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University, National Louis University, Roosevelt University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Chicago Star Partnership.
“I want to thank these 12 university partners for helping Chicago’s Star Scholars gain access to a four-year degree,” Mayor Emanuel said. “We must continue working to ensure that a college education is within the reach of every hard-working Chicago student, regardless of their ability to pay.”
One of the most ethnically diverse universities in the nation, Northeastern provides its students an affordable, quality education with more than 70 undergraduate and graduate programs in the arts and sciences, education and business.
