101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB0026

 

Introduced 1/9/2019, by Rep. André Thapedi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Public University Uniform Admission Act. Requires each public university in this State to admit first-time freshman applicants as undergraduate students if the applicant graduated with a grade point average in the top 10% or was certified to be in the top 10% of the student's high school graduating class in one of the 2 school years preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for admission and (1) the applicant graduated from an accredited public or private high school in this State or from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense; (2) the applicant successfully completed the minimum college preparatory curriculum requirements for admission to the university and satisfied the ACT college admission assessment or the SAT college admission assessment composite score and subscores required for admission to the university; and (3) if the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense, the applicant is a State resident or is entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate provided for State residents. Provides that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is not required to offer admission to applicants who qualify for automatic admission in excess of the number required to fill 75% of the university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students in an academic year. Sets forth other provisions concerning the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sets forth other provisions concerning admissions. Provides for additional preparation for college, student outreach, and rulemaking.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Public
5University Uniform Admission Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definition. In this Act, "institution" means a
7public university in this State.
 
8    Section 10. Uniform admission system. An institution shall
9admit first-time freshman students for each semester under the
10provisions of this Act.
 
11    Section 15. Automatic admission.
12    (a) Subject to Section 20 of this Act, each institution
13shall admit an applicant for admission to the institution as an
14undergraduate student if the applicant graduated with a grade
15point average in the top 10% or was certified to be in the top
1610% of the student's high school graduating class in one of the
172 school years preceding the academic year for which the
18applicant is applying for admission and:
19        (1) the applicant graduated from a public or private
20    high school in this State accredited by a generally
21    recognized accrediting organization or from a high school

 

 

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1    operated by the United States Department of Defense;
2        (2) the applicant:
3            (A) successfully completed the minimum college
4        preparatory curriculum requirements established by law
5        for admission to the institution; and
6            (B) satisfied the ACT college admission assessment
7        or the SAT college admission assessment composite
8        score and subscores required for admission to the
9        institution to which the applicant applied as well as
10        any composite scores or subscores for colleges within
11        that institution; and
12        (3) if the applicant graduated from a high school
13    operated by the United States Department of Defense, the
14    applicant is a State resident or is entitled to pay tuition
15    fees at the rate provided for State residents for the term
16    or semester to which admitted.
17    (b) An applicant who does not satisfy the curriculum
18requirements prescribed by item (A) of subdivision (2) of
19subsection (a) of this Section is considered to have satisfied
20those requirements if the student completed the portion of the
21college preparatory curriculum that was available to the
22student but was unable to complete the remainder of the
23curriculum solely because courses necessary to complete the
24remainder were unavailable to the student at the appropriate
25times in the student's high school career as a result of course
26scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause not

 

 

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1within the student's control.
2    (c) An applicant who graduates in a graduating class of a
3school, whether public or non-public, that has so few students
4that class rank does not make a reliable contribution toward
5assessing the student's college readiness is considered to have
6satisfied the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section if
7the student has a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a
84-point scale and has met the requirements of item (A) or (B)
9of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this Section.
 
10    Section 20. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
11admission.
12    (a) The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is not
13required to offer admission to applicants who qualify for
14automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act in excess of
15the number required to fill 75% of the university's enrollment
16capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate
17students in an academic year. If the number of applicants who
18qualify for automatic admission to the University of Illinois
19at Urbana-Champaign under Section 15 of this Act for an
20academic year exceeds 75% of the university's enrollment
21capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate
22students for that academic year, the university may elect to
23offer admission to those applicants as provided by this
24subsection (a) and not as otherwise required by Section 15 of
25this Act. If the university elects to offer admission under

 

 

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1this subsection (a), the university shall offer admission to
2those applicants by percentile rank according to high school
3graduating class standing based on grade point average,
4beginning with the top percentile rank, until the applicants
5qualified under Section 15 of this Act have been offered
6admission in the number estimated in good faith by the
7university as sufficient to fill 75% of the university's
8enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident
9undergraduate students, except that the university must offer
10admission to all applicants with the same percentile rank.
11After the applicants qualified for automatic admission under
12Section 15 of this Act have been offered admission under this
13subsection (a) in the number estimated in good faith as
14sufficient to fill 75% of the designated enrollment capacity
15described by this subsection (a), the university shall consider
16any remaining applicants qualified for automatic admission
17under Section 15 of this Act in the same manner as other
18applicants for admission as first-time undergraduate students.
19    (b) If the number of applicants who apply to the University
20of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the current academic
21year for admission in the next academic year and who qualify
22for automatic admission to an institution under Section 15 of
23this Act exceeds 75% of the university's enrollment capacity
24designated for first-time resident undergraduate students for
25that next academic year and the university plans to offer
26admission under subsection (a) of this Section during the next

 

 

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1academic year, the university shall, in the manner prescribed
2by the Board of Higher Education and not later than September
315 of the current academic year, provide to each school
4district, for dissemination of the information to high school
5junior-level students and their parents, notice of which
6percentile ranks of high school senior-level students who
7qualify for automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act
8are anticipated by the university to be offered admission under
9subsection (a) of this Section during the next academic year.
10    (c) If the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
11elects to offer admission to first-time resident undergraduate
12students under subsection (a) of this Section for an academic
13year, the university must not consider an applicant's legacy
14status as a factor in the university's decisions relating to
15admissions for that academic year.
16    (d) If the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
17offers admission to first-time resident undergraduate students
18under subsection (a) of this Section, the university shall
19require that a student admitted under subsection (a) of this
20Section complete a designated portion of not less than 6
21semester credit hours of the student's coursework during
22evening hours or other low-demand hours as necessary to ensure
23the efficient use of the university's available classrooms.
24    (e) If the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
25elects to offer admission under subsection (a) of this Section
26for an academic year, the university may not offer admission to

 

 

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1first-time undergraduate students who are not residents of this
2State for that academic year in excess of the number required
3to fill 10% of the university's enrollment capacity designated
4for first-time undergraduate students for that academic year.
5    (f) Not later than December 31 of each academic year in
6which the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers
7admission under subsection (a) of this Section, the university
8shall deliver a written report to the Governor and the General
9Assembly regarding the university's progress in each of the
10following matters:
11        (1) increasing geographic diversity of the entering
12    freshman class;
13        (2) counseling and outreach efforts aimed at students
14    qualified for automatic admission under this Act;
15        (3) recruiting State residents who graduate from other
16    institutions of higher education to the university's
17    graduate and professional degree programs;
18        (4) recruiting students who are members of
19    underrepresented demographic segments of this State's
20    population; and
21        (5) assessing and improving the university's
22    recruitment efforts.
23    The report to the General Assembly shall be filed with the
24Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the
25Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk
26and the Secretary shall direct.

 

 

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1    (g) The Board of Higher Education shall publish an annual
2report on the impact of subsection (a) of this Section on this
3State's goal of closing college access and achievement gaps
4with respect to students of the University of Illinois at
5Urbana-Champaign, disaggregated by race, ethnicity,
6socioeconomic status, and geographic region and by whether the
7high school from which the student graduated was a small
8school, as designated by the State Superintendent of Education,
9or a public high school that is ranked among the lowest 20% of
10public high schools according to the percentage of each high
11school's graduates who enroll in an institution in one of the 2
12academic years following the year of the applicant's high
13school graduation. On request, the university shall provide the
14Board with any information the Board considers necessary for
15the completion of the report required by this subsection (g).
 
16    Section 25. Admission requirements.
17     (a) To qualify for admission under this Act, an applicant
18must:
19        (1) submit an application before the expiration of any
20    application filing deadline established by the
21    institution; and
22        (2) provide a high school transcript or diploma that
23    satisfies the requirements of subsection (b) of this
24    Section.
25    (b) For purposes of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of

 

 

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1this Section, a student's official transcript or diploma must,
2not later than the end of the student's junior year, indicate:
3        (1) whether the student has satisfied or is on schedule
4    to satisfy the requirements of item (A) of subdivision (2)
5    of subsection (a) of Section 15 of this Act; or
6        (2) if subsection (b) of Section 15 of this Act applies
7    to the student, whether the student has completed the
8    portion of the college preparatory curriculum that was
9    available to the student.
 
10    Section 27. Graduates of nonaccredited private schools.
11    (a) As used in this Section, "nonaccredited secondary
12education" means a course of study at the secondary school
13level in a nonaccredited private school setting.
14    (b) Because the State of Illinois considers successful
15completion of a nonaccredited secondary education to be
16equivalent to graduation from a public high school, an
17institution, in complying with this Act and for all other
18purposes, must treat an applicant for admission to the
19institution as an undergraduate student who presents evidence
20that he or she has successfully completed a nonaccredited
21secondary education according to the same general standards,
22including specific standardized testing score requirements, as
23other applicants for undergraduate admission who have
24graduated from a public high school.
25    (c) An institution may not require an applicant for

 

 

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1admission to the institution as an undergraduate student who
2presents evidence that he or she has successfully completed a
3nonaccredited secondary education to:
4        (1) obtain or submit evidence that the person has
5    obtained a general educational development certificate,
6    certificate of high school equivalency, or other
7    credentials equivalent to a public high school degree; ?or
8        (2) take an examination or comply with any other
9    application or admission requirement not generally
10    applicable to other applicants for undergraduate admission
11    to the institution.
12    (d) In complying with this Act or otherwise, when an
13institution in its undergraduate admission review process
14sorts or is required to sort applicants by high school
15graduating class rank, the institution shall place any
16applicant who presents evidence that the applicant has
17successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education
18that does not include a high school graduating class ranking at
19the average high school graduating class rank of undergraduate
20applicants to the institution who have equivalent standardized
21testing scores as the applicant.
22    (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, with
23respect to admission into the institution or any program within
24the institution, with respect to scholarship programs, and with
25respect to other terms and conditions, and in complying with
26this Act, an institution may not treat an applicant who has

 

 

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1successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education
2that does not include a high school graduating class ranking
3differently than an applicant who graduated from an accredited
4public school.
 
5    Section 30. Admission for child of fallen police officer,
6firefighter, or Department of Corrections employee. Each
7institution shall admit an applicant for admission to the
8institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant:
9        (1) is the child of a police officer or firefighter
10    employed by or in the voluntary service of this State or
11    any local public entity in this State who was killed or
12    sustained a fatal injury in the line of duty or is the
13    child of an employee of the Department of Corrections who
14    was assigned to a security position with the Department
15    with responsibility for inmates of a correctional
16    institution under the jurisdiction of the Department and
17    who was killed or sustained a fatal injury in the line of
18    duty;
19        (2) meets the minimum requirements, if any,
20    established for purposes of this Section by the governing
21    board of the institution for high school or prior
22    college-level grade point average and performance on
23    standardized tests; and
24        (3) satisfies the ACT college admission assessment or
25    the SAT college admission assessment composite score and

 

 

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1    subscores required for admission to the institution to
2    which the applicant applied as well as any composite scores
3    or subscores for colleges within that institution.
 
4    Section 35. Additional preparation for college. After
5admitting an applicant under this Act, the institution shall
6review the applicant's record and any other factor the
7institution considers appropriate to determine whether the
8applicant may require additional preparation for college-level
9work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program.
10The institution may require a student so identified to enroll
11during the summer immediately after the student is admitted
12under this Act to participate in appropriate enrichment courses
13and orientation programs. This Act does not prohibit a student
14who is not determined to need additional preparation for
15college-level work from enrolling, if the student chooses,
16during the summer immediately after the student is admitted
17under this Act.
 
18    Section 40. Student outreach program. The Illinois Student
19Assistance Commission, by rule, shall develop and implement a
20program to increase and enhance the efforts of institutions in
21conducting outreach to academically high-performing high
22school seniors in this State who are likely to be eligible for
23automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act to provide to
24those students information and counseling regarding the

 

 

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1operation of this Act and other opportunities, including
2financial assistance, available to those students for success
3at institutions. Under the program, the Commission, after
4gathering information and recommendations from available
5sources and examining current outreach practices by
6institutions of higher education in this State and in other
7states, shall prescribe best practice guidelines and standards
8to be used by institutions in conducting the student outreach
9described by this Section.
 
10    Section 45. Fall or summer enrollment. An institution that
11admits, under this Act, an applicant qualified for automatic
12admission under Section 15 of this Act may admit the applicant
13for either the fall semester of the academic year for which the
14applicant applies or for the summer session preceding that fall
15semester, as determined by the institution.
 
16    Section 50. Admissions denial; reference to Act. If an
17institution denies admission to an applicant for an academic
18year, then, in any letter or other communication the
19institution provides to the applicant notifying the applicant
20of that denial, the institution may not reference the
21provisions of this Act, including using a description of a
22provision of this Act such as "the top 10% automatic admissions
23law", as a reason the institution is unable to offer admission
24to the applicant, unless the number of applicants for admission

 

 

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1to the institution for that academic year who qualify for
2automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act is sufficient
3to fill 100% of the institution's enrollment capacity
4designated for first-time resident undergraduate students.
 
5    Section 90. Rules. The Board of Higher Education and the
6Illinois Student Assistance Commission may adopt any rules
7necessary to implement this Act.