College of Dupage

Spread across 273 acres within the suburban setting of Glen Ellyn in Illinois, the College of DuPage (COD) is a two-year community college that serves students residing in District 502 of DuPage County, Cook County, and Will County. COD also has higher educational facilities in Addison, Naperville, Westmont, Bloomingdale, West Chicago, and Carol Stream. First officially established in 1967, the College of DuPage has expanded over recent years to undergo an architectural and landscape renaissance to accommodate the more than 29,000 enrolled students. Recent expansions have included the Homeland Security Education Center, which is the first of its kind in the Midwest, and the Culinary Hospitality Center with a six-room boutique hotel run by students within the Hospitality program.

As the second largest provider of undergraduate education in the state of Illinois, College of DuPage offers more than 90 certificate programs, 59 associate's degree programs, and 45 transfer pre-baccalaureate programs. All COD programs have been fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). Perhaps the most highly regarded programs at the College of DuPage are within the Department of Architecture, which prepares students to transfer their rigorous credits to some of the best architecture schools in the nation. The COD Meteorology Department is also distinguished as one of the most unique programs to offer college credit for storm chasing.

Inspired by the fact that early students at the College of DuPage had to run from building to building to attend their classes, the college adopted the mascot of the chaparral, which is a long-legged roadrunner bird. The COD Chaparrals are members of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. In 2010, the College of DuPage men's outdoor track and field team won the national NJCAA Championship and the women's tennis team brought home the Division III NJCAA Championship.

Since its humble beginnings in 1967, the College of DuPage has grown in breadth and stature to stand proudly as one of the finest community colleges in the nation. Among the most notable alumni Chaparrals include actor John Belushi, talk show host Steven Best, Big Brother winner Andy Herren, actress Marisol Nichols, Olympian Tom Pukstys, and NFL defensive lineman Paul Spicer. As a participant in the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) from the HLC, the College of DuPage continues to make progressive plans for a bright academic future.