Two years ago, the inaugural class of Chicago STAR Scholars embarked on a path toward earning a college degree or certificate at City Colleges of Chicago. Today, more than 175 students are expect to reach this goal, becoming City Colleges graduates this year and part of the inaugural graduating class of Star Scholars. At a special “Cording Ceremony” on Wednesday,
May 10th at Malcolm X College, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado honored these students, who received blue cords designating them as Star Scholar graduates. Students in the STAR Scholarship program demonstrate a high aptitude for completion success that far outpaces the national average. The percentage of City Colleges STAR Scholars from the first 2015 cohort graduating in three years is expected to be double the national average of 22.6 percent for first-time, full-time students at two-year public institutions nationwide who complete in three years (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, March 2017), and the percentage of Star Scholars graduating in two years has already nearly matched the national three-year rate. To become a STAR Scholar, CPS students must meet specific criteria to be selected for the STAR Scholarship at City Colleges of Chicago. For more information about the Chicago STAR Scholarship at City Colleges of Chicago, visit: www.ccc.edu/starscholarship.

Photo Caption:
CCC Chancellor Juan Salgado, Harold Washington Star Scholar Graduate Juan Mora, Mayor Emanuel