* From the governor’s office…

Dear Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Senator Halpin, Representative Katz Muhl and house and senate management staff:

After months of discussion on the Community College Baccalaureate bill, a priority of the Governor’s Office, we are thrilled to let you know Public Universities have expressed that they are neutral on the negotiated language (attached for reference) and will release a statement of neutrality when the bill is posted to committee.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done together, and the involvement of Public Universities, the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, members of the House and Senate and legislative staff from both chambers has been invaluable. The group met for over 17 hours across 10 meetings to reach this agreement, and the result speaks for itself: it’s a better product now than it was at the start of the negotiation process.

For example, the following substantive changes have been made since the bill was originally filed:

• Requires community colleges to provide notice to universities prior to performing a feasibility analysis on the creation of a CCB program,
• Creates an application process that fosters multiple opportunities for collaboration among universities and community colleges,
• Provides a ‘reconsideration period’ where universities can demonstrate to ICCB and IBHE their ability to create cost effective and accessible partnership agreements with a community college before program approval,
• Establishes a comprehensive, multi-step evaluation process on duplication to ensure that any duplication of programming is warranted based upon metrics approved by the universities,
• Ensures parity in ‘truth in tuition’ language between universities and approved CCB programs,
• Limits the use of online coursework within the course sequence of a CCB program,
• Establishes a permanent cap on the total number of CCB programs that can be established in the next 7 years,
• Staggers the total number of CCB programs that can be established in the next 3 years and the subsequent 4 years, and
• Creates new CCB regions recommended by the universities to constrain how many CCB programs can be established by region and in the areas of nursing, early childhood education, and cybersecurity.

We thank the universities for their collaboration on this important issue. We have a shared commitment to expanding access to affordable education, strengthening the state’s workforce, and creating more economic opportunity for Illinoisans.

We look forward to the bill moving through the General Assembly in the coming weeks. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Emily

Emily Miller
Senior Advisor to the Governor for Policy and Legislative Affairs
Office of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker

* From the universities…

A coalition of Illinois public and private universities today released the following statement regarding legislation to expand four-year degree programs at community colleges:

“Illinois’ public and private universities are committed to increasing access to quality, affordable education. Since learning of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to expand four-year degree programs at community colleges during his annual Budget Address in February, we’ve spent months negotiating in good faith to ensure the plan best serves all students. Throughout this process, universities have prioritized collaboration to avoid unproductive competition. While our universities will take no position on the merits of this legislation, the shifting landscape of higher education, heightened uncertainty, and our commitment to our institutions and the students of Illinois require us to be vigilant and monitor implementation of this proposal. We appreciate the increased investment in universities that Governor Pritzker has made during his tenure, and because of the vital role higher education plays in Illinois, we urge policymakers to make public university funding an even greater priority. Decades of underfunding have weakened our higher education ecosystem, which now faces additional threats from shifting federal policy agendas and reduced investment in critical research programs. Now, more than ever, we should be united in ensuring the strength of our universities so they can best serve Illinois students. The conversation about how to increase access to quality, affordable education cannot end here.”

- Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, JD, President, Chicago State University
- Dr. Jay Gatrell, President, Eastern Illinois University
- David Tretter, President, Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
- Dr. Corey S. Bradford, Interim President, Governors State University
- Dr. Aondover Tarhule, President, Illinois State University
- Dr. Lisa C. Freeman, President, Northern Illinois University
- Dr. Katrina E. Bell-Jordan, President, Northeastern Illinois University
- Dr. Dan Mahony, President, Southern Illinois University System
- Dr. Kristi Mindrup, President, Western Illinois University

Discuss.