Joliet Junior College

In 1901, J. Stanley Brown, Superintendent of Joliet Township High School, and William Rainey Harper, the first president of the University of Chicago, founded Joliet Junior College (JJC) in Illinois, the first public community college in the U.S. JJC was designed to replicate the first two years of a four-year college or university for students who wanted to stay in their community. By the end of 1902, JJC became tuition free. Today, JJC has more than 30,000 students in credit and noncredit courses. Their Division of Adult and Family Services (DAFS) offers education, job training, employment, and support services. Most of JJC’s programs and services are free and finance tuition, books, transportation, and childcare.