Frontier Community College in Fairfield, Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel and Lincoln Trail College in Robinson had the highest “on time” graduation rates among two-year schools in Illinois, according to the latest data compiled from U.S. Department of Education and Illinois State Comptroller tracking the performance and spending at 49 Illinois community colleges.
Community colleges, also called junior colleges, technical colleges or city colleges, are primarily two-year public institutions. They grant certificates, diplomas and associate’s degrees. Graduates considered “on time” finished a course program in two years.
Illinois schools enrolled 304,173 students in 2016, and 17,242 graduated. Dividing enrollment by two classes, the statewide graduation rate that year was 11 percent.
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Graduation rates for Illinois community colleges
| School | City | Enrollment | Annual Graduates | Graduation Rate |
| Frontier Community College | Fairfield | 1,952 | 595 | 61% |
| Wabash Valley College | Mount Carmel | 4,330 | 1,083 | 50% |
| Lincoln Trail College | Robinson | 934 | 229 | 49% |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | 2,489 | 473 | 38% |
| Spoon River College | Canton | 1,560 | 289 | 37% |
| Olney Central College | Olney | 1,198 | 216 | 36% |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | 3,665 | 550 | 30% |
| Southeastern Illinois College | Harrisburg | 1,820 | 246 | 27% |
| Sauk Valley Community College | Dixon | 1,892 | 246 | 26% |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | 5,107 | 638 | 25% |
| John Wood Community College | Quincy | 1,968 | 226 | 23% |
| Lewis & Clark Community College | Godfrey | 7,272 | 800 | 22% |
| Danville Area Community College | Danville | 2,666 | 267 | 20% |
| Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | 1,927 | 164 | 17% |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | 2,839 | 227 | 16% |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | 9,918 | 793 | 16% |
| Highland Community College | Freeport | 1,857 | 149 | 16% |
| Kennedy-King | Chicago | 3,472 | 260 | 15% |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | 5,744 | 431 | 15% |
| Shawnee Community College | Ullin | 1,824 | 137 | 15% |
| McHenry County College | Crystal Lake | 6,371 | 478 | 15% |
| John A. Logan College | Carterville | 4,424 | 310 | 14% |
| Black Hawk College | Moline | 5,613 | 393 | 14% |
| Waubonsee Community College | Sugar Grove | 10,081 | 655 | 13% |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | 9,290 | 604 | 13% |
| Kankakee Community College | Kankakee | 3,078 | 185 | 12% |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | 9,515 | 571 | 12% |
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | 3,775 | 208 | 11% |
| Harper College | Palatine | 14,142 | 707 | 10% |
| Parkland College | Champaign | 7,569 | 378 | 10% |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | 7,699 | 346 | 9% |
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | 3,206 | 144 | 9% |
| Richard J. Daley | Chicago | 7,407 | 333 | 9% |
| Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills | 15,021 | 676 | 9% |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | 26,901 | 942 | 7% |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | 14,768 | 517 | 7% |
| Heartland Community College | Normal | 5,282 | 158 | 6% |
| Oakton Community College | Des Plaines | 9,443 | 236 | 5% |
| Morton College | Cicero | 4,397 | 110 | 5% |
| Harold Wash. | Chicago | 8,486 | 212 | 5% |
| Triton College | River Grove | 11,386 | 285 | 5% |
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | 15,383 | 308 | 4% |
| South Suburban College | South Holland | 3,703 | 74 | 4% |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | 4,484 | 67 | 3% |
| Harry Truman | Chicago | 8,998 | 135 | 3% |
| Olive Harvey | Chicago | 2,979 | 30 | 2% |
| Malcolm X | Chicago | 6,183 | 62 | 2% |
| Wilbur Wright | Chicago | 10,155 | 102 | 2% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education; Illinois State Comptroller
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