Admission Requirements

Open Door Policy

Kishwaukee College has an “open door” admission policy and admission is open to all in district residents of Community College District 523 who meet the following criteria.

1. High school graduates or the equivalent High School Equivalency (HSE) Certificate or non-graduates who will be 18 years of age or older during the first semester of enrollment.
2. High School students under 16 may be considered for enrollment in credit classes with joint approval of the high school principal and the Registrar.
3. Transfer students from other colleges. Only credits earned from regionally accredited institutions will be accepted. No grade point average will be calculated on those credits.

Admission is also open to out-of-district, out-of-state, and residents of foreign countries. However, there may be some program restrictions, differential tuition charges, and/or special admission requirements.

Kishwaukee College reserves the right to restrict students’ admission to those courses in which their success seems most probable as indicated by their high school record, transcripts from other educational institutions attended, test results, work experiences, and college counseling interviews. Those students who do not have an adequate background to take the courses of their choice may have the opportunity to take special courses to prepare them for more advanced coursework.

Admission to Kishwaukee College does not guarantee enrollment in any specific program of instruction.

Placement

Placement into Math and English must be determined before students can enroll in Math or English courses or courses with a Math or English prerequisite. Placement indicates whether you begin your English and math courses at the college level (courses numbered above 100 that are transferrable) or at the developmental level (courses numbered below 100 that prepare you for college-level work but do not transfer).

Students may be exempt from part or all of the placement test based on cumulative high school G.P.A. or SAT or ACT scores.

Transfer students may be required to take placement tests before course enrollment. During advising, students will be informed of any placement tests they will be required to take.

Students who do not comply with the placement testing policy will be administratively dropped from their course enrollment(s) until testing has been completed and appropriate course placement indicated.

Click on Placement for more information. 

Admission is also open to out-of-district, out-of-state, and residents of foreign countries; however, there may be some program restrictions, differential tuition charges, and/or special admission requirements.

Kishwaukee College reserves the right to restrict students’ admission to those courses in which their success seems most probable as indicated by their high school record, transcripts from other educational institutions attended, test results, work experiences, and college counseling interviews.

All students who intend to reenter after a two-year absence must complete a new Student Information Form prior to advisement and registration. Degree or certificate-seeking students must provide official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended since their last enrollment at Kishwaukee College prior to advisement and registration.

Students interested in admission to certain Kishwaukee College’s health sciences programs must meet other admissions requirements in addition to those identified above.

These programs are the Paramedic degree (A.A.S.), the Nursing degree (A.A.S.), the Radiologic Technology degree (A.A.S.), Medical Assistant certificate, Therapeutic Massage certificate, and Esthetics certificate. Interested students should contact the relevant health program department or review the program admission information available on the relevant department’s webpage on the Kishwaukee College website. 

Emergency Medical Services

Esthetics 

Medical Assistant

Register Nursing

Therapeutic Massage

Students under 18 must submit written approval from the high school principal or counselor at the school where they have legal residence and from the student’s parent or legal guardian. High school students under age 16 may be considered for enrollment in credit classes with the joint approval of the high school principal and the Registrar at Kishwaukee College. Those students currently attending high school who wish to enroll at Kishwaukee College simultaneously in 100- or 200-level college courses will earn credit toward Kishwaukee College degree requirements. Students enrolled in high school are not eligible for federal and/or state financial aid.

Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit opportunities are available through selected high schools. Dual Enrollment courses can be taken during or after the high school day for college credit only. Dual Credit courses allow the student to earn credit at both Kishwaukee College and the student’s high school. Consult high school counselors for details.

Kishwaukee College is authorized under federal law to enroll noncitizens. All applicants who are citizens of non-English speaking countries will be eligible for admission to Kishwaukee College when they complete the following requirements:

1. Complete and submit an online Student Information Form for admission to Kishwaukee College at www.kish.edu/international. A non-refundable $15 processing fee will be collected at registration.
2. Make arrangements to send or request official copies of your academic records, both high school and college. Evaluations can be performed by one of the following accredited organizations: ECE (www.ece.org), ACEI (www.acei-global.org) or WES (www.wes.org).
3. Applicants must provide proof of written and oral English competency by submitting official copies of scores from the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Kishwaukee College requires a TOEFL score of 61 on the Internet-based Test (iBT) or 500 on the Paper-based Test (PBT). A minimum band score of 6.0 is required on the IELTS Academic test.
4. In addition with the other required documents, all applicants must submit an International Student Statement of Finances to demonstrate that they have adequate financial resources to meet their educational expenses. Kishwaukee College requires that all F-1 visa status applicants submit evidence of adequate financial support to cover costs of attendance for at least one full year of studies. This support may be provided through any combination of personal or sponsored funds.
   If supported by personal and/or family funds, submit signed International Student Statement of Finances and original bank statement reflecting an available bank balance. Personal bank and sponsor letters should be signed or stamped by the sponsor/bank official and can be sent by mail, fax, or email. These documents cannot be older than ninety (90) days from the initial term start date. Financial materials sent to Kishwaukee College will not be returned. Students should not expect to be able to find a job off campus and are not eligible for grants or scholarships. Please visit www.kish.edu/international for specific requirements.
5. All international students who are transferring from a college or university, within the United States, must have the International Transfer to Kishwaukee College form completed by the institution last attended. This form is required to be completed as a part of the enrollment procedure.
   • You can mail a completed application, official transcripts, language test scores, bank statement and proof of support to:
     Kishwaukee College
     Student Services
     21193 Malta Rd.
     Malta, IL 60150
6. Once students receive their I-20 from Kishwaukee College, they must pay the I-901 SEVIS fee at www.fmjfee.com prior to embassy appointment to obtain a student visa.
   • To enter the country they must have a valid passport and current I-20.
7. The Student Information Form and all required materials must be completed and received in the Student Services office by the following deadlines:
   • Fall Semester (beginning in August) - June 15th
   • Spring Semester (beginning in January) - November 15th
   • Transfer students or F-1 students already in the United States have until July 1st or December 1st.

Please allow 2-3 days for the student Information Form to be evaluated. Applicants will be contacted after the Student Information Form has been evaluated. All documents submitted to Kishwaukee College become property of the college and will not be returned to the student.

Students at Kish who have transfer credits from another institution and plan to enroll in a degree/certificate program should submit an official transcript. The official transcripts
can be sent electronically or submitted in a sealed envelope from the transfer institution to the Student Services Office. Official transcripts cannot be faxed or scanned.

Evaluations may take up to 1 week after submission of official transcripts. An email will be sent to the Kish student email account after your evaluation has been completed.

Criteria for evaluation of transferable credits:

• Transfer credit must be earned at a regionally accredited institution.
• Transfer credits may be awarded for 100/200/300 level courses. A maximum of 49 credits including a maximum of 27 open elective credits will be applied toward a transfer degree. Students are required to complete at least 15 residency hours depending on the total of transfer credits applied.
• Any elective credit(s) shown as a 1XX, 2XX or 3XX on the Kish evaluation may be re-evaluated by submitting a syllabus to the Student Services Office.
• Kish accepts passing grades of “D” for transfer credit; however the course may need to be repeated for specific course prerequisites and program criteria. Please refer to the college catalog for requirements.
• Students who transfer 30 or more credits will not be required to complete the Student Success portion of the degree requirement and will receive a waiver. However, a student may choose to enroll in any of the Student Success courses to earn more credits in the open elective area.
• Transfer credit does not affect cumulative GPA.
• Any CLEP or AP credits earned must have official test scores submitted.
• Foreign transfer credits must be translated and evaluated by ECE (www.ece.org), WES (www.wes.org), or ACEI (www.acei-global.org). Please email international@kish.edu with questions concerning foreign transcripts.
• Military transfer credits will be evaluated by submitting the official Joint Services Transcript (JST). Order online cost-free at https://jst.doded.mil.
•  

Reverse Transfer is a program designed for students who attended Kishwaukee College and then transferred to a University without earning their associate degree. Credits successfully completed at another university may be transferable back to Kishwaukee College. Kishwaukee College will evaluate credits taken at the university to see if they will fulfill any and all remaining requirements for your associate degree. If all requirements are met, an associate degree will be automatically awarded. The student will be notified within 30 days regarding the results of the transcript evaluation and must then submit a graduation application online via their myKish Self-Service account.

A student may repeat at Kishwaukee College a course for which credit was earned at another post-secondary institution. Doing so causes the student to forfeit any credit awarded in transfer, unless the Kishwaukee College course was not completed. If the student’s record indicates the same course had been successfully completed at both Kishwaukee College and another institution, regardless of the order in which they were taken, the Kishwaukee course shall be the one used in the overall grade point average.

If a student fails a course at Kishwaukee College in which transfer credit has been earned, the Kishwaukee College grade will remain on the student’s transcript, and the student will be given credit for the course in transfer.

Transfer credit is awarded for a maximum of four credit hours in physical education activity courses based on the chronological order in which they were completed. Students receiving transfer credit in activity courses will later forfeit the corresponding transfer credit in excess of the four credit hours for credits earned in activity courses at Kishwaukee College.

Transfer credit for courses graded under a pass/fail option will normally be awarded open elective credit toward A.A. or A.S. degree requirements. Pass courses do not carry transfer credit for required courses in certificate of completion, A.A.S., or other degree programs.