| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public community college district (District 529) with an elected Board of Trustees; mostly in-person classes, with online and hybrid courses |
| Locations | Four colleges in southeastern Illinois (Olney Central, Frontier, Lincoln Trail, Wabash Valley) plus Olney Central’s West Richland Center in Noble |
| Students | 3,494 headcount, fall 2025 (Illinois Community College Board) |
| Credentials | Certificates, 25 AAS degrees, and AA, AS and AGS transfer degrees |
| Program length | From a 6-week truck driving course to two-year AAS degrees |
| Tuition 2026-27 | $140 per credit hour in-district, $215 out-of-district, $240 out-of-state, plus $36 per credit in fees |
| Accreditation | Higher Learning Commission, one accreditation for the district; reaffirmed 1 April 2025, next 2034-35 |
| Federal aid | Yes (Pell, loans, work-study), plus Illinois MAP and veterans’ grants |
| Founded | Wabash Valley 1960, Olney Central 1963; district formed 1969 |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
Four colleges, one district in southeastern Illinois
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges (IECC) is a public community college district in southeastern Illinois. It runs four colleges, Olney Central College, Frontier Community College, Lincoln Trail College and Wabash Valley College, under one Higher Learning Commission accreditation, and since FY2025 it has reported to the state as a single college with four campuses. Each college has its own specialties: radiography and automotive at Olney Central, lineworker, coal mining and EMS training at Frontier, process technology at Lincoln Trail, and diesel, agriculture and physical therapist assistant at Wabash Valley. Nursing is taught at all four. The district counted 3,494 students in fall 2025.
Career programs across IECC’s four colleges
IECC’s August 2026 program list has 25 AAS degrees and about 60 certificate listings, several of them offered at more than one college. Most trade and health programs are taught at one college only, so where a program is taught matters as much as what it covers. The costs below are total estimates from the programs’ Illinois workNet listings (recertified August 2025, at 2025-26 rates); a dash means IECC does not say.
| Program | Credential | Length | Where | Prepares for | Published cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Degree in Nursing | AAS, 72 credits | About 64 weeks | All four colleges | NCLEX-RN (ACEN-accredited) | $20,182 total (workNet, 2025-26 rates) |
| Practical Nursing (exit) | Certificate inside the ADN | Year 1 of the ADN plus a summer course | All four colleges | NCLEX-PN (not ACEN-accredited) | – |
| Basic Nurse Assistant | Certificate | 16 weeks, or 8 in summer | All four colleges | Illinois CNA exam | – |
| Radiography | AAS | Two years | Olney Central | ARRT (JRCERT-accredited) | Health Professions rate |
| Physical Therapist Assistant | AAS | Two years | Wabash Valley | NPTE (CAPTE-accredited) | Health Professions rate |
| Medical Laboratory Technician | AAS | – | Frontier | MLT certification (NAACLS-accredited) | Health Professions rate |
| Certified Medical Assistant | AAS, 71 credits; certificate | About 65 weeks (AAS) | Lincoln Trail | AMT or NHA exams (not CAAHEP/ABHES-accredited) | $14,198 total (workNet, 2025-26 rates) |
| Phlebotomy | Certificate, 17 credits | Two semesters | Frontier | None named by IECC | $4,772 total (workNet, 2025-26 rates) |
| Medical Coding Associate | Certificate | – | Olney Central | AHIMA CCA | – |
| Massage Therapy | Certificate | One year, evenings | Olney Central | MBLEx; Illinois license | – |
| EMT; Paramedic | Certificates (EMT 9.5 credits) | EMT 16 weeks | Frontier | – | EMT $988 total (workNet, 2025-26 rates) |
| Electrical Distribution Systems (lineworker) | Certificate, 34.5 credits; AAS | 36 weeks (certificate) | Frontier | Flagger certification; spray-applicator license | $6,352 total (workNet, 2025-26 rates) |
| Coal Mining Technology | AAS, 60 credits; certificates | About 64 weeks (AAS) | Frontier | – | $11,410 total (workNet, 2025-26 rates) |
| Truck Driving | Certificate of completion, 7 credits | 6 weeks | Frontier, Wabash Valley | CDL | $4,002 total (workNet, 2025-26 rates) |
| Welding and Fabrication; Welding certificates | AAS; certificates | One year (certificate) | Olney Central (with Noble lab); certificates also at Lincoln Trail | AWS certifications | $75 lab fee per welding course |
| Automotive Technology | AAS, 68 credits; certificates of 52 and 12 credits | – | Olney Central | – (program is ASE Master-accredited) | – |
| Diesel Equipment Technology | AAS, 69.5 credits | Four semesters and a summer | Wabash Valley | – | Uniforms $285; own hand tools |
| Industrial Maintenance; HVAC I | AAS; certificate | Two semesters (HVAC I) | Olney Central | – | – |
| Cosmetology; Nail Technology | Certificates (cosmetology 1,500 hours) | Three semesters; nail tech two semesters | West Richland Center, Noble | Illinois licensing exams | Cosmetology kit about $1,600 |
Programs with their own accreditation are the ADN (ACEN), Radiography (JRCERT), Physical Therapist Assistant (CAPTE), Medical Laboratory Technician (NAACLS) and Automotive Technology (ASE Master). IDFPR approves the nursing programs and licenses the cosmetology and nail technology schools, and the Basic Nurse Assistant course is approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Medical assisting is not programmatically accredited. Frontier also teaches Coal Mining Technology, with mine technician and mine electrical maintenance certificates. Truck Driving does not appear on the catalog program list.
What the main programs cover
Nursing: one ADN with a practical nursing exit
All four colleges teach the same Associate Degree in Nursing. Applicants take the TEAS, and a new class is chosen each year, with applications opening in the fall for the following fall. After the first year, students can take a summer practical nursing exit course that qualifies them for the NCLEX-PN, and can then return for the second year. Licensed practical nurses can skip ahead through an advanced placement bridge course. Clinical practice is in hospitals, and nursing students also take ATI tests, charged at cost.
Radiography at Olney Central
IECC describes Radiography as an intensive two-year program, and like nursing it admits a new class each fall after applications open the previous fall. Students rotate through hospital clinical sites as well as campus labs, and pay lab and clinical fees on top of tuition. JRCERT gave it its maximum eight-year accreditation award. The program’s effectiveness data sheet on the IECC site was blank when we checked, so the five-year ARRT and completion figures could not be confirmed.
Lineworker training at Frontier
Electrical Distribution Systems students learn to climb poles and practice hurt-man rescue in an outdoor lab behind Frontier’s Workforce Development Center, alongside classroom work on electrical and transformer theory. Classes meet Tuesday through Thursday. The certificate takes about 36 weeks; an AAS is also offered. Students sit an ATSSA flagger exam and earn a state spray-applicator license. For telecom rather than power line work, Lincoln Trail offers an Outside Plant Technician certificate.
Diesel Equipment Technology at Wabash Valley
The diesel program is aimed at farm, industrial and truck equipment. Courses cover hydraulics, an air-conditioning certification course and the GPS, planting and harvesting systems on modern farm machinery. The degree runs four semesters plus a summer, and two supervised work-experience courses, worth 3.5 and 5 credits, give students supervised time on the job. Students must supply their own hand tools and pay for program uniforms.
Cosmetology and nail technology in Noble
Both programs are taught at the West Richland Center in Noble, not the Olney campus. Cosmetology is a full-time day program, Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 4:30, 40 hours a week, running three semesters including summer, with fall or spring entry, and it meets the 1,500 hours Illinois requires before the licensing exam. Nail Technology is taught as four evening classes over two semesters, starting in the fall. Both require a student kit.
Welding at Olney Central and Lincoln Trail
Olney Central’s Welding and Fabrication degree offers morning, afternoon and evening cohorts. Students learn stick, MIG, TIG and flux-cored welding (SMAW, GMAW, GTAW and FCAW), plus plasma and water-jet cutting, and the college says they can earn several AWS certifications along the way. Some training is in the 15-booth lab at the West Richland Center in Noble. Lincoln Trail offers shorter welding certificates.
Tuition and fees for 2026-27
IECC charges by the credit hour, with rates effective from Summer 2026. In-district means living in Community College District 529; out-of-district covers other Illinois residents. Through the CAREER Agreement, students from other participating Illinois districts can take eligible career programs at in-district rates. Health Professions rates apply to select courses in nursing, PTA, radiography and MLT.
| Courses (2026-27) | In-district | Out-of-district (Illinois) | Out-of-state |
|---|---|---|---|
| General courses, per credit hour | $140 | $215 | $240 |
| Health Professions courses (select nursing, PTA, radiography and MLT), per credit hour | $210 | $322.50 | $360 |
| Universal fees, per credit hour | $36 | $36 | $36 |
On top of the per-credit fees, students taking six or more credits pay $65 a semester (a $60 activity fee and a $5 facilities fee), and full-time students at Lincoln Trail pay an $80 recreation center fee. IECC’s own figure for a year of 30 in-district credits is $5,410 in tuition and fees (July 2026). Programs add their own fees: $75 per welding course, $285 for diesel uniforms, about $1,600 for a cosmetology kit, and lab, clinical and testing fees in the health programs.
Federal aid, MAP grants and veterans’ benefits
IECC takes part in federal student aid: Pell Grants (up to $7,395 for 2026-27), Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work-Study and Direct Loans. Illinois residents can apply for the state’s MAP grant, and eligible veterans can use the Illinois Veteran Grant, which waives tuition and mandatory fees, or the Illinois National Guard Grant. Students can also use VA education benefits, including the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, DEA and VR&E. Each college’s foundation awards scholarships, though IECC does not publish amounts. Several programs, including nursing, phlebotomy, lineworker and truck driving, are on the state’s WIOA training list, so eligible adults may get them funded.
Admissions and schedules
Admission to the colleges is open, but Nursing and Radiography are selective, with applications opening each fall for the next fall’s class and the TEAS required for nursing. Schedules vary by program: welding at Olney Central runs morning, afternoon and evening cohorts; lineworker classes meet Tuesday to Thursday; massage therapy and nail technology meet in the evenings; and the nurse assistant course runs 16 weeks in fall and spring or 8 weeks in summer, with clinicals in the evenings or on weekends. Over 150 courses have online options, but we found no fully online career certificate or degree on IECC’s online page.
Accreditation and results
IECC holds one accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission for the whole district; the four colleges are HLC branch campuses of IECC, not separately accredited institutions. The district has been accredited since 1984. HLC reaffirmed it on 1 April 2025 after a Comprehensive Evaluation, with no monitoring, and the next reaffirmation is due in 2034-35.
| Measure | Result | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| NCLEX-RN first-time pass rate (ADN) | 98% | FY2025; 91% FY2024, 88% FY2023 (IECC nursing outcomes) |
| NCLEX-PN first-time pass rate (PN exit) | 100% | FY2025 and FY2024; 98% FY2023 (IECC) |
| ADN completion | 51% | FY2025; 60.7% FY2024, 61% FY2023 (IECC; definition not stated) |
| Radiography ARRT registry pass rate | 100% | 2025 graduates; employment also 100% (IECC, August 2025) |
| PTA national exam, first-time pass rate | 60% (3 of 5) | 2025; 44.4% (4 of 9) in 2024; employment 60% in 2025 (IECC) |
| MLT certification pass rate | 75% | FY2026; 66.7% FY2025, 100% FY2024 (IECC) |
| Cosmetology state exam pass rate | 100% | 2023 to 2025, 7 or 8 testers a year (IECC) |
| District graduation within 150% of normal time | 64.6%; 16.6% transferred out | Full-time first-time students starting fall 2022 (IPEDS, via IECC) |
| Fall-to-fall retention | 66% full-time, 49% part-time | Fall 2023 to fall 2024 (IECC) |
The program results are published by IECC itself. Several program cohorts are small (five PTA testers in 2025), so one student can move a rate by 10 points or more. Paramedic and EMT exam results are not published. A limited web search in October 2026 found no lawsuits, settlements or regulatory actions against the district, but that was not a full check of court records.
What changed from 2023 to 2026
- FY2025: IECC began reporting to the Illinois Community College Board as one college district with four campuses. The board says this, rather than a real fall in students, mainly explains the drop in reported headcount.
- 1 April 2025: HLC reaffirmed the district’s accreditation, with the next reaffirmation in 2034-35.
- June 2026: the Board of Trustees chose a new chancellor, who was due to start on 15 August 2026 after the previous chancellor retired.
- Fall 2026: the Broadband Telecom AAS was reactivated at Lincoln Trail, Administration of Justice was renamed Criminal Justice, and the Automotive Technology AAS changed to 68 credits.
- August 2026: ten programs were inactivated, including the Accounting, Human Resource Assistant, Office Administration, Marketing Business Management and Automotive Service Technology AAS degrees; the Office Administration certificate became a Business Administration certificate offered at all four colleges.
Before you enroll
- IECC has no stand-alone LPN program. Practical nursing is a summer exit course inside the ADN, so students must be admitted to the ADN first, and the PN certificate is not ACEN-accredited.
- The medical assisting programs at Lincoln Trail are not accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES, so they do not lead to the AAMA’s CMA exam; IECC’s fees point to the AMT and NHA exams instead.
- The PTA program’s 2025 results were weak: 60% of a five-student cohort passed the national exam on the first try, and 60% were employed.
- ADN completion has fallen from 61% in FY2023 to 51% in FY2025, even as pass rates rose.
- Most career programs are taught at only one of the four colleges, and Truck Driving does not appear on the 2026-27 catalog program list, so confirm the college and the next start date before planning around a program.
Clinicals, internships and work experience
Several programs build in time with employers: hospital clinicals in nursing, radiography and phlebotomy; a 150-hour internship in Graphic Arts and Design; 8.5 credits of supervised work experience in Diesel Equipment Technology; an internship in the Automotive Service Specialist certificate; and a public student clinic in Massage Therapy. IECC reports that all FY2025 nursing graduates were employed within six months. Students wanting a bachelor’s degree can use the Franklin University 3+1 partnership.
What students say on Niche
Niche rates each IECC college separately (checked 8 October 2026): Olney Central College 3.64 out of 5 from 104 reviews, Lincoln Trail College 3.81 from 58, Wabash Valley College 4.39 from 49 and Frontier Community College 4.49 from 35, or 246 reviews in all. Reviewers praise caring staff and faculty, including disability and mental-health support, small classes, low cost, and hands-on trade training such as the lineworker, EMS and fire programs at Frontier. Complaints include uneven teaching, online courses that feel thinner than in-person ones, and a quiet social scene. Our research saw no sign of invited reviews or bursts in Niche’s summaries; we did not check Trustpilot or GradReports, and the Olney Central page shows district-wide enrollment, a side effect of the 2025 reporting change. See Niche.
Sources
Checked October 2026: HLC institution record · 2026-27 Academic Catalog · Tuition and fee rates · Nursing outcomes · Student outcome data · PTA outcomes · ICCB fall 2025 enrollment · Niche
Programs & Courses
Nursing
- Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN, RN), all four colleges
- Practical Nursing certificate (PN exit inside the ADN)
- LPN-to-RN advanced placement
- Basic Nurse Assistant (CNA)
Health Professions
- Radiography (Olney Central)
- Physical Therapist Assistant (Wabash Valley)
- Medical Laboratory Technician (Frontier)
- Certified Medical Assistant AAS and Medical Assistant certificate (Lincoln Trail)
- Phlebotomy (Frontier)
- Medical Coding Associate (Olney Central)
- Massage Therapy (Olney Central)
Emergency Services and Public Safety
- Emergency Medical Responder
- EMT
- Paramedic
- Fire Science and fire certificates
- Criminal Justice (formerly Administration of Justice)
Energy, Utilities and Mining
- Electrical Distribution Systems (lineworker)
- Gas Utility Construction & Service
- Coal Mining Technology and mine technician certificates
- Broadband Telecom and outside plant certificates
Skilled Trades and Manufacturing
- Welding and Fabrication; Welding; Welding and Cutting
- Automotive Technology; Automotive Service Specialist; Auto Light Repair Tech
- Diesel Equipment Technology
- Industrial Maintenance Technology
- Industrial Maintenance HVAC I
- Process Technology
- Automation, Equipment, Operations and Production Technician
- Truck Driving (CDL)
Agriculture
- Agricultural Technology/Business
- Agricultural Technology/Production
- Precision Agriculture; Professional Ag Applicator
- Turf and Landscape Design
Cosmetology
- Cosmetology
- Cosmetology Teacher
- Nail Technology
Business
- Business Administration (AAS and certificate)
- Professional Bookkeeper
- Small Business Development
- Supervisory Skills
Technology, Media and Design
- Networking
- Graphic Arts and Design; Graphic Design
- Radio/TV and Digital Media
- Music and Media
- Sports Marketing and Media
- Social Media Management
Education and Human Services
- Early Childhood Education and ECE Level 2 and 3 Credentials
- Human and Behavioral Health
Campus Locations
Olney, IL 305 North West Street, Olney, IL 62450-1099
Fairfield, IL 2 Frontier Drive, Fairfield, IL 62837-2601
Robinson, IL 11220 State Highway 1, Robinson, IL 62454-5707
Mt. Carmel, IL 2200 College Drive, Mt. Carmel, IL 62863-2699
Olney (Noble), IL 320 East North Avenue, Noble, IL 62868