Early Transfer Academy

To be considered for ETA courses, Unit 4 will review:

• previous and current school year grades and/or GPA 
• pre-ACT secure 9 and 10 data in English, Math, and Science
• attendance data
• letter(s) of recommendation
• student essay

1. Submit an application through Unit 4. All applications for the 2026–2027 cohort are due by Friday, January 16, 2026
2.  In order to be eligible to apply for the GECC Pathway, students must have taken 435 Accelerated Geometry during 9th Grade and be enrolled to take 851 AP World History and 486 Accelerated Chemistry I/487 Accelerated Chemistry II during 10th Grade. 

Other factors will include grades, Illinois Assessment of Readiness scores and NWEA MAP scores. 

COM 103 – Intro to Public Speaking (3 Credits)
(IAI C2 900) Practice and study in public speaking involving informative, persuasive, and other speaking contexts. Develops awareness of the communication process, audience analysis, topic, occasion, and self. Emphasizes skills in listening, reading, critical thinking, and speaking.

Open Enrollment; Recommended for first-year ETA students

ENG 101 – Composition I (3 Credits)
(IAI C1 900) Essay writing with emphasis on process, purpose, audience awareness, critical analysis, focus, organization, development, clarity, coherence, and engagement with outside texts. A grade of C or higher fulfills IAI General Education Core Curriculum requirements for transfer programs.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for second-year ETA students or HS seniors without Dual Credit ENG 101 in the High School

ENG 102 – Composition II (3 Credits)
(IAI C1 901R) Research-paper writing, with emphasis on: developing a focused thesis for a thorough research essay; providing logical support in organized essays, while demonstrating an awareness of audience; demonstrating effective research techniques and accurate documentation of sources. A grade of C or higher fulfills IAI General Education Core Curriculum requirements for transfer programs.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for second-year ETA students or HS seniors without Dual Credit ENG 102 in the High School

ART 165 – Art Appreciation (3 Credits)
(IAI F2 900) Introductory survey of visual arts in relation to human society, with aim of providing wide acquaintance with art forms and an appreciation of factors that have determined their development. Includes museum field trips.

LAS 188 – Diverse U.S. Cultural Expression (3 Credits)
(IAI HF 906D) Application of the Inquiry Method, a critical thinking methodology, to a variety of artifacts originating from a diverse array of U.S. ethnic communities and cultural traditions, including Native American, Asian American, African American, and Latino/a American. Study and analysis of artifacts from a wide range of disciplines and expressive practices including music, art, literature, public presentation, and historical, social, and political texts. 

HUM 105 – Cultures and Civilizations of Sub-Saharan Africa (3 Credits)
(IAI HF 904N) Exploration of cultures in Sub-Saharan Africa as expressed in art, music, literature, history, and philosophy. 

MUS 121 – Music Appreciation (3 Credits)
(IAI F1 900) Understanding music through perceptive listening. Deals with elements of music (melody, rhythm, harmony, form, tone color) and how they are combined to create a given musical effect. Emphasis placed on increasing one's aural awareness of what is happening in music.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for second-year students not needing ENG 101

ANT 101 – Introduction to Anthropology (3 Credits)
(IAI S1 900N) Introduction to the study of humankind. Attention given to humanity as both a living, evolving organism and creator and product of culture. Substantial emphasis placed on cross-cultural material.

MAT 108 – Intro to Applied Statistics (3 Credits)
(IAI M1 902) Basic statistical principles, graphic presentation, descriptive measures of central tendency, dispersion and location, inferential statistics and hypothesis testing, analysis and inference of linear correlation coefficient, and slope of regression line. Credit not given for both MAT 108 and MAT 160.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for students not pursuing STEM degree

MAT 128 – Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (5 Credits)
(IAI M1 900-1, MTH 901) Derivative and its applications; integral and its applications; limits and continuity; trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic, and hyperbolic functions. Credit not given for both MAT 128 and MAT 143.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for students pursuing a STEM degree

MAT 160 – Statistics (4 Credits)
(IAI M1 902) Data organization, distributions, measures of central tendency and variability, probability, sampling, the normal distribution, expected value, estimation, hypothesis testing, chi square analysis, analysis of variance, regression, correlation, nonparametric methods, and applications to business, social science, and life science. Credit not given f or both MAT 108 and MAT 160.

BIO 105 – Human Biology (4 Credits)
(IAI L1 904L) Provides non-science majors basic principles of human biology in the context of current social issues. An emphasis on the human body and its interconnectedness to health, disease, growth, development, genetics, and evolution, as they relate to individuals and society.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for second-year ETA students or HS seniors not wanting Forensic Sciences as their physical and life science

CHE 100 – Introduction to Chemistry (4 Credits)
(IAI P1 902L) Introduction to chemical concepts, including the metric system, moles, chemical composition, atomic structure, bonding, reactions, and solutions. Designed primarily for those with little or no high school chemistry who expect to continue with CHE 141/CHE 142.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for second-year ETA students or HS seniors; must be taken in conjunction with
SCI 208 to fulfill GECC

PHY 141 – Mechanics (4 Credits)
(IAI P2 900L, PHY 911) Basic principles of mechanics for physics, chemistry, engineering, and mathematics majors. Kinematics, dynamics, conservation laws of momentum, angular momentum, energy, rigid bodies, oscillations, gravitation, fluids.

Note: Open Enrollment; Recommended for second-year ETA students or HS seniors; must be taken in conjunction with SCI 108 to fulfill GECC

HIS 105 – History of the United States since 1877 (4 Credits)
(IAI S2 901) Survey of American history from Reconstruction to the present. Emphasis on the economic, political, cultural, and social forces that have shaped the American past. 

Note: Restricted to ETA students; Fulfills Non-western requirement

HIS 108 – World History I (4 Credits)
(IAI S2 912 N) Examination of the economic, social, cultural and political history of global peoples and cultures from ancient times to 1500.

Note: Open Enrollment;  Fulfills Non-western requirement

POS 122 – American National Government (3 Credits)
(IAI S5 900) Survey of American national government: political socialization, U.S. constitution, public opinion, political parties, interest groups, the courts, Congress, and the presidency.