Opened in 2016, Malcolm X College is 544,000 square feet and has room for 20,000 students. Enrollment remains less than half that. | CannonDesign
Opened in 2016, Malcolm X College is 544,000 square feet and has room for 20,000 students. Enrollment remains less than half that. | CannonDesign
Chicago's Malcolm X College recently announced that its building architects have earned a prestigious award for the redeveloped campus' "green" design.
For Malcolm X College students, however, academic accolades from the school-- or even a basic, two-year associate's degree-- remain elusive.
In a press release, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted the U.S. Green Building Council's "Gold" certification for Malcolm X as "yet another example of the city's commitment" to "(making) sustainability part of the Chicago experience."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) reports that only 2 percent of entering Malcolm X students manage to finish its two-year program in two years.
That's the equivalent of 62 students per year out of a typical 3,092-student class.
The school spent $68 million in 2017, or about $1.1 million per graduate.
Tuition and expenses for former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students attending Malcolm X is $14,520 per year, according to the DOE.
Malcolm X's President David Sanders said that creating an energy-efficient and "sustainable" building was his priority in the school's redesign and development, which includes "green" rooftops and a "rainwater harvesting system."
The new school campus, which opened in January 2016, cost state and city taxpayers $251 million.
It has won its designer, Buffalo-based Cannon Design, previous recognition from Fast Company magazine.
“The college’s design serves to compliment the high-quality programs Malcolm X College offers to students seeking healthcare careers and planning to transfer to four-year colleges,” said City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado, who oversees the city's seven junior colleges.
Malcolm X is one of six with graduation rates below 10 percent, according to DOE reports.
Salgado's city colleges spent half a billion dollars in 2017 and graduated 2 percent of students system-wide, or 1,134 total, approximately $462,000 per graduate.
Emanuel announced last year that he expects a 25 percent graduation rate at the city colleges by next year.
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Chicago Junior College graduation rates
Malcolm X College is "green"-- but like all Chicago junior colleges, it struggles to graduate students.
| School | Enrollment | Grad. Rate | Annual Graduates | Annual Budget | $$ per Graduate |
| Olive Harvey | 2,979 | 2% | 30 | $69,244,625 | $2,324,425 |
| Malcolm X | 6,183 | 2% | 62 | $67,623,666 | $1,093,703 |
| Wilbur Wright | 10,155 | 2% | 102 | $94,573,272 | $931,298 |
| Harry Truman | 8,998 | 3% | 135 | $77,012,101 | $570,587 |
| Harold Wash. | 8,486 | 5% | 212 | $65,097,850 | $306,848 |
| Kennedy-King | 3,472 | 15% | 260 | $75,357,058 | $289,390 |
| Richard J. Daley | 7,407 | 9% | 333 | $74,768,190 | $224,317 |
| TOTALS | 47,680 | 2% | 1,134 | $523,676,763 | $461,794 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Navigator and Illinois Comptroller Data Warehouse; Graduation rates track latest published data, for entering freshmen in 2013 who finished two year programs in two years.
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