Moraine Valley holding a variety of classes in spring 2023

Moraine Valley Community College is offering an assortment of courses and formats for the spring 2023 semester. Aside from in-person classes, other formats include online and hybrid, which is a combination of online and face-to-face instruction. Classes start Jan. 17 and later.

Moraine Valley offers more than 130 degree and certificate programs. Students interested in transferring to four-year colleges or universities can earn associate degrees in Arts, Fine Arts, General Studies, Engineering Science, Applied Science or Science. Students also can choose from several career certificate programs, including Allied Health and Nursing, Business and Computer Sciences, Industrial Technology and Public Service. The college offers noncredit programs and courses as well.

Moraine Valley also offers several classes at its two extension sites – the Education Center at Blue Island (12940 S. Western Ave.), where students can complete the Nursing Program in the health care classrooms and labs on-site, and the Southwest Education Center in Tinley Park (17900 S. 94^th Ave.), which features the college’s legal library for the Paralegal Program.

Tuition at Moraine Valley costs $468 per three-credit-hour course compared to more than $1,250 per class for private colleges or universities, ultimately saving students thousands of dollars each year.

A complete list of credit and noncredit classes can be found in the spring 2023 class schedule online at morainevalley.edu. Registration is ongoing. Tuition is $134 per credit hour plus fees and books. New students must complete an admission application at morainevalley.edu/apply, and can register in the Registration Office, located in the Student Services Center (Building S), 9000 W. College Parkway in Palos Hills; by phone at (708) 974-2110 (TTY 711), email [email protected] or online.

Moraine Valley professor earns prestigious Fellow honor

Moraine Valley Community College program coordinator of Sleep Technology, Debbie Guerrero, has made contributions to the field of sleep for about 30 years, and she was recognized for her work by being named an American Association of Sleep Technologists (AAST) Fellow.

Guerrero, who also is a professor of respiratory therapy technology, was inducted with five others as a 2022 Fellow in November. The AAST Fellow Program recognizes credentialed individuals who have made significant, sustained contributions to the field of sleep technology. It has only been inducting Fellows since 2017. Being a Fellow gives Guerrero another credential and more opportunities to be involved with the AAST.

“I’ve contributed some to our professional organizations, so when I got this honor, I was flattered, honored and surprised,” Guerrero said.

She is a Moraine Valley graduate who worked in respiratory therapy at hospitals and by chance entered the world of sleep technology in the late 1980s. Once she did, she was hooked and passionate. “I’m fascinated by how sleep plays an important role in health. I’m a sleep preacher,” she explained. 

In 1993, Guerrero started at Moraine Valley as an adjunct instructor of respiratory therapy before the Sleep Technology Program was born in 2001. Of the 41 accredited school sleep programs in the country, Moraine Valley is the only one in Illinois.

In addition to her work at the college, Guerrero has been involved in the sleep field in a variety of ways. She has reviewed and was editor of the current textbook for students; has conducted seminars and workshops to help prepare students for the Certification in Clinical Sleep Health exam; chaired a committee that accredits sleep schools; helped start the Illinois Sleep Society and served as president at one time; and she is on the AAST education advisory committee.

The sleep field is still comparatively young but has come a long way, according to Guerrero, and there is a demand for nighttime sleep techs and daytime sleep educators. “This is an excellent health care field with lots of possibilities, but it’s not as well known. It’s rewarding and a lower stress career, no blood and guts and a slower pace, yet very rewarding.”