Partners in Education Program

As of right now, all information sessions are virtual. 

Information Sessions run 60 minutes in length.  You must attend on-time and for the entire duration of the session.  Being on-time shows that you are ready for school and value the investment being made in your education. As such, virtual access to the information session will close 5 minutes after the scheduled start time; late attendees will need to attend a later session.

Please bring a notebook and pen to take notes and know your CHA Client ID number.  

The Partners in Education program covers all unmet costs, after financial aid is applied, including:

• Tuition
• Uniforms
• Books
• Exam Fees

Costs are paid through non-transferable CCC vouchers for use at registration and the online bookstore. You must first attend an information session to be registered to receive these vouchers.  

Yes! CHA covers the cost - including tuition, uniforms, books, and exam fees - for its residents to attend City Colleges of Chicago through a program called Partners in Education.

To register for CHA’s Partners in Education program you must:

• Attend an information session
• Be a current resident in CHA’s Public Housing or Housing Choice Voucher Program.
• Have no previous debt with City Colleges of Chicago.
• Apply for financial aid.  Financial aid is applied first, with CHA’s Partners in Education program covering any unmet costs.

Nearly every program offered by CCC can be covered in full through CHA’s Partners in Education program.

CHA’s Partners in Education program covers costs of:

• Remediation & GED Prep courses
• Basic Certificate & Advanced Certificate programs, and
• Associate Degree programs

There is a limit to cost per student per year within the Partners in Education program. The only program CCC offers that exceeds this cost per student per year is the French Pastry School.  For students interested in this program, only a portion of the costs are covered by CHA’s Partners in Education program. 

CHA does not automatically pay for CCC courses for CHA residents.  CHA residents must register for the Partners in Education program first, in order to have tuition, uniforms, books, and exam fees covered.  To register in the Partners in Education program, you must attend an information session a minimum of two weeks prior to the start of your course to allow time for processing and verification.  The Partners in Education program does not cover previous debt or costs for courses that have been completed or are currently in progress.    

The goal of the Partners in Education program is to support CHA residents to receive their first Associates degree or Credential, debt-free. For residents who already have an Associate’s Degree (or higher) only a very limited amount of support is available through our Partners in Education program. Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, wherein students who are awarded assistance can receive support for up to a maximum of 12-credit hours in total. Please note, this assistance is primarily awarded to Associates Degree students seeking to take a limited number of prerequisite courses prior to transferring to a 4-year institution to complete their Bachelors. Please attend an INFO SESSION and notify the program manager that you already have a degree and they will direct you with the appropriate next steps.