Thornton Junior College became South Suburban College in 1927. At the time, the College was a branch of Harvey, Illinois’ Thornton Township High School. Community College District 510 was established by the Illinois Community College Act of 1965, which expanded the service area to include Thornton Township High School District 205, Thornton Fractional Township High School District 215, and Bremen High School District 228. The name was changed to Thornton Community College in 1969 to underscore the College’s broad goal. In 1972, the College relocated to its current main site in South Holland. The Board of Trustees voted in June 1988 to change the institution’s name to South Suburban College in order to better reflect the College’s geographic location. The Oak Forest Center was established in Oak Forest in 1992 to serve the western portion of the district and to provide possibilities for district citizens to obtain a four-year degree.
During a typical year at South Suburban College, over 9,000 students are enrolled. The College provides a diverse range of career education and college credit transfer programs. The Business & Career Institute at South Suburban College also offers non-credit tailored training, short-term business education, and dozens of special interest seminars. The Performing Arts Center at the College is state-of-the-art. The College sponsors a variety of cultural events, such as plays, comedy acts, special lectures, and concerts, which add to the diversity of the performing arts in the south suburbs. SSC will continue to give educational opportunities to the community in both traditional and new and emerging fields in the future. We think that through pursuing distant learning, we will be able to reach tomorrow’s students in even more engaging ways. South Suburban College’s objective is to provide lifetime learning opportunities to our students and the community. SSC is committed to providing high-quality education, training, and services to all those who can benefit from our programs. A varied community of learners can benefit from programs that are both accessible and cheap. Training is provided in partnership with local businesses. A community of staff, instructors, and students who work together to provide a learning environment and resources. Modern facilities and technology that assist students in preparing for transfer to bachelor programs or the work market. Our Goals: South Suburban College is a friendly, attractive, efficient, safe, transparent, and financially secure institution that promotes creative dialogue and synergy among the school community and its partners. SSC will play a major role in altering the lives of its diverse student population through innovative teaching, technology integration, modeling sustainable habits that appreciate the environment, cultivation of external collaborations, and a culture of assessment. Academic assistance/tutoring, academic/career counseling, transfer counseling, employment, job placement, assistance for students with a visual, hearing, or physical impairment (or disability), on-campus day care, student life and athletic programs, short-term medical insurance are all available to students.