William Rainey Harper College is a public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the United States and the first president of the University of Chicago. Campus Location Harper College has a campus, approximately northwest of downtown Chicago, in the suburb of Palatine, Illinois. Harper also offers classes and services at other locations: Harper College Learning and Career Center in Prospect Heights, Illinois The Harper Professional Center in Schaumburg, Illinois Harper College works in partnership with the Illinois Small Business Development Center (ISBDC), which is part of the Harper Professional Center in Schaumburg. Harper College works in partnership with the North Suburban Cook County American Job Center in Wheeling, Illinois Architecture The campus was designed to have an informal layout. The architectural concept uses scale and placement of buildings, multilevel plazas, brick, wood and concrete building materials and glass window walls to give a variety of interior and exterior views. The structures are built into the natural contours of the land, with entrances on several levels. The Avanté Center for Science, Health Careers and Emerging Technologies covers more than of learning space including 35 laboratories, nine lecture halls, a nursing lab, and a working dental clinic. According to the architects Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum Inc. (HOK), Avanté incorporates energy-saving elements using a holistic approach. Academics Harper College offers more than 50 transfer options, allowing students to earn an associate degree before transferring to a four-year college or university to complete a bachelor's degree. The college also offers more than 40 career programs which grant an associate degree or certificate and provide the skills necessary to enter the workforce. These programs range in length from sixteen weeks to two years. All courses, educational programs, counseling services, and distance learning programs are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The college is also home to an award-winning Speech & Debate team. In the past 16 years, the team has won the Illinois Intercollegiate Speech and Debate Tournament on 7 occasions. Harper offers 15 Study Abroad programs spread amongst Central America, Europe, and Asia. A few programs (3) are directly administered by the College; on the other hand, most are in conjunction with the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs (ICISP). Service area Harper College District 512 comprises