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Governor moves some universities to ‘no position’ on his community college baccalaureate bill

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 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.

       

14 Comments
  1. - James - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 1:24 pm:

    This is terrible legislation, a shame the Universities are bowing down to the Governor.


  2. - Booboo - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 1:34 pm:

    James, can you say more? Why is it “terrible”?


  3. - Frida’s boss - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 1:48 pm:

    Wonder what that cost?


  4. - Juvenal - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 1:51 pm:

    Not U of I, the state’s flagship university.


  5. - Grimlock - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 2:12 pm:

    I’ve taught at a few CC in Illinois. In many cases I found classes where the students were passed along just to keep the program alive even though the students couldn’t handle the basics. I’m really curious what kind of quality these degrees will have.


  6. - JCAR the Hutt - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 2:26 pm:

    Will the Community Colleges still impose property taxes?
    There’s a reason tuition is lower at CCs.


  7. - James - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 2:34 pm:

    It’s terrible for numerous reasons…

    1) its gonna jack up property taxes. You are not going to be able to deliver 4 year degrees without increasing payrolls. JUCO’s live off property taxes….so enjoy that…

    2) This will undermine the 4 year schools, banned punctuation. Why would we do that? SIU Carbondale has fought hard to regain their footing and now this will smash those gains to pieces. Moreover, are the 4 year schools going to able to offer associates degrees again?

    The right to offer 2 year degrees was taken from 4 year school years ago to benefit the JUCO schools. It’s totally crazy to do this and not think it won’t have a tremendously negative impact on Eastern, Western, SIU Carbondale, SIUE, etc. Very Very very irresponsible.


  8. - anon - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 2:35 pm:

    Fewer young people attending four-year colleges will result in less interaction among students from different places and cultures. In so many ways going away to college is an essential part of becoming a more rounded and knowledgeable citizen.


  9. - Rich Miller - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 2:36 pm:

    ===this will smash those gains to pieces===

    Somebody didn’t read the post.


  10. - Proud Papa Bear - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 2:45 pm:

    It appears that I’m in the minority here but I appreciate the move to more consumer-oriented choices. More working people will be able to get credentials without having to drive three hours away for classes that are only offered at 10 AM.

    As far as rigor, I have five college degrees and my most rigorous coursework by far was at my community college.


  11. - James - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 3:11 pm:

    I read the post rich. I don’t look at this for what it is. I look at it for where it’s headed. This is a toe hold that will inevitably be expanded. I’ve seen this game before.


  12. - Booboo - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 3:30 pm:

    None of the 23 other states where this has already been enacted have seen any sort of decimation of their regional public universities. If anyone had hard evidence of this, the universities would not be shifting to neutral… I get a panicked gut reaction but there doesn’t seem to be any factual basis for it.


  13. - Rich Miller - Friday, May 16, 25 @ 3:39 pm:

    === I don’t look at this for what it is===

    “This is terrible legislation”

    And every possible expansion will have to be run through the GA.

    Take a breath.


  14. - George - Monday, May 19, 25 @ 10:00 pm:

    Look to Pennsylvania to see Illinois’ higher ed future. Three decades about Penn State University started acquiring junior colleges and turning them into 4-year Penn State Branch campus. Currently there are at least 23 Penn State branch campuses. This was on top of the existing dozen or so Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The resulting over production of public baccalaureate institutions contributed to the eventual 2022 merger of six of the PASSHE Universities into two (Now called Penn West and PA Commonwealth.) Now in 2025, Penn State has announced the closure of at least seven of its branch campuses. https://www.wtae.com/article/penn-state-campus-closures-new-kensington-fayette-shenango/64760699 All of this upheaval has cost the PA taxpayers a lot of extra money, just as well opening the mission creep of baccalaureate degrees from IL community colleges will ultimately be very costly to IL tax payers (both by increases in property taxes to support the community colleges and increase in State taxes to support the current State Universities whose enrollment will further drop making the cost per student higher for the State.


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