Respiratory Care

To Apply to Program:

• If you are not already an MXC student, apply to the college
• Identify your intent with your assigned academic advisor 
• Complete program prerequisite courses 
• Submit non-CCC official transcripts to Malcolm X Registrar
• Apply to the Program in Student Portal (my.ccc.edu)
• The application period for the Respiratory Care Program Fall 2025 cohort will be from October 1 through February 14th..

About

The A.A.S. in Respiratory Care will prepare the students to become a well-rounded professional and competent advanced respiratory therapist. Graduates are eligible to take the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) Therapist Multiple Choice exam (TMC). Achieving a cut score of 86 earns the Certified Respiratory Therapist credential. In Illinois this is the credential that allows the graduate to apply for a license to practice.

Achieving a high cut score on the exam of 92 qualifies the graduate to apply for a license to practice in Illinois, and also to take the Clinical Simulation examination. Successful completion of both exams earns the RRT – Registered Respiratory Therapist credential Our professional credentialing organization is The National Board of Respiratory Care, NBRC.org . Information about the profession of respiratory care can be found at the American Association for Respiratory Care .

This is a fully accredited program by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care, CoARC.

The CoARC Program number for the Malcolm X College Program is 200175.

The CoARC’s main webpage is www.coarc.com

CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an ‘outcomes based’ process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.

The CoARC’s outcomes webpage can be found at https://coarc.com/students/programmatic-outcomes-data/

Program Goals:

• Goal 1
  Prepare graduates with demonstrated competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory therapists (RRTs).
• Goal 2
  Prepare graduates to teach COPD and Asthma disease management to patients and their families to improve the quality of their lives and to help prevent exacerbations and to reduce health care costs.
• Goal 3
  Prepare graduates to be culturally competent when interacting with patients, families and health care workers and citizens of the world.

Successful completion of the program can lead to employment as a respiratory therapist in hospitals, clinics or home settings or branch off into research, sales, education or other career opportunities.

Admission Requirements

• Earned a cumulative GPA of 2.50
• Earn a grade of “C” or above in English 101 or higher; Math 118 or higher; Chemistry 121 or higher*
• Complete one of the following Biology requirements:
  • Earn a grade of “C” or above in Biology 226 and Biology 227
    • Note the prerequisite for Biology 226 is a grade of "C" or above in Biology 121
  • Earn a grade of "C" or above in Biology 116
• All official college transcripts attended outside of the City Colleges of Chicago must be submitted to the MXC Office of Registrar Services

* Note: Students enrolled in prerequisite courses in current semester are eligible to apply to the Respiratory Care program, provided they can demonstrate a course grade of “C” or better. However, admission cannot be granted until all requirements are complete. Students that meet all of the minimum admission requirements listed above will be scheduled for an interview with the program admission committee. Students that complete this interview will be considered for admission to the program. Please note that admission is highly competitive and that not all students who are interviewed will be admitted. Students are advised to prepare for the interview, to arrive early, and to dress appropriately for a professional interview. Students are also advised to carefully prepare their admissions packet, giving special attention to content and format.

Background Check

Students entering most healthcare professions programs will be required to present documentation of health history and vaccination status, to undergo annual tuberculosis screening, to submit to a background check, to submit to initial and random drug screening, and to undergo fingerprinting prior to licensing with the state of Illinois. Students should consult with an advisor if any of these requirements are a concern.  

Submitting Application within Student Portal (my.ccc.edu )

• Under “My Academic Plan”
• Within “Academic Planning”
• Click “Selective Application”