This is an invitation for your institution to join several other institutions of higher learning in Illinois to become a member of (or renew your membership with) the Consortium for Illinois Learning Communities (CILC). Previous institutional involvement with CILC has been crucial for our success during the past few years, and we look to you for continued support and leadership. Becoming an institutional member will allow all faculty and administrators from your school to participate in CILC workshops and seminars at a reduced fee. We hope you will be able to contribute financially to our endeavor.

CILC is a consortium committed to supporting regional academic institutions that are offering interdisciplinary learning communities, related learner-centered pedagogies, and the faculty development that supports them. In the past, CILC offered open houses that showcased learning communities practice at various colleges in the Chicagoland area. More recently, CILC members have given presentations at colleges just starting learning communities initiatives (such as Kiswaukee Community College and Wright College), provided targeted counseling to member institutions to address specific needs in their programs, and hosted a Spring Best Practices Symposium in early May, featuring a renowned expert in LC practices as our keynote speaker.

The work of CILC has been so enriching for so many that we wish now to continue these low-cost activities on a regular basis. Our future plans include possible curricular retreats for campus teams interested in developing their understanding of innovative pedagogies and assessment. These retreats would combine formal interactive presentations with substantial time for campus teams to work together, if they wish, with the services of an outside consultant. We also plan to offer on-campus resource consulting visits by experts within the Consortium institutions for specific projects or workshops. In addition, we are reworking our website to serve as both a resource for information and a gathering point where member institutions can connect with each other to share their strengths and address challenges they face.

We hope that you will agree to become or continue to be a member at the institutional level. Institutional membership will also help build a more diverse consortium and encourage more participants from each school. For those institutions with a smaller group of interested parties, individual memberships are also available. Annual institutional membership fees of $100.00 will be due each November 30th. These funds will support faculty development opportunities, inter-campus assessment expenses, CILC website maintenance, administrative supplies, and meeting expenses.

If renewing your membership, thank you for your past support; for those who are new to the consortium, please consider supporting the work of this organization. Include the following form with your check. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact James Allen, Executive Committee Chair, at (630) 942-3421 or allenj@cod.edu.

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Please make checks out to CILC and send by Nov. 30 to:

CILC
P. O. Box 4291
Wheaton, IL 60189