Public Act 0194 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1079 Enrolled LRB096 09650 NHT 19811 b

Public Act 096-0194

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Dual Credit Quality Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Dual credit course" means a college course taken by a high school student for credit at both the college and high school level.

"Institution" means an "institution of higher learning" as defined in the Higher Education Student Assistance Act.

Section 10. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to accomplish all of the following:

(1) To reduce college costs.

(2) To speed time to degree completion.

(3) To improve the curriculum for high school students and the alignment of the curriculum with college and workplace expectations.

(4) To facilitate the transition between high school and college.

(5) To enhance communication between high schools and colleges.

(6) To offer opportunities for improving degree attainment for underserved student populations.

Section 15. Student access, eligibility, and attainment.

(a) The Illinois Community College Board and the Board of Higher Education shall develop policies to permit multiple appropriate measures using differentiated assessment for granting eligibility for dual credit to students. The measures developed shall ensure that a student is prepared for any coursework in which the student enrolls.

(b) Institutions may adopt policies to protect the academic standing of students who are not successful in dual credit courses, including, but not limited to, options for (i) late withdrawal from a course, or (ii) taking the course on a pass-fail basis, or both. All institutional policies relating to the academic standing of students enrolled in dual credit courses or the transfer of credit for dual credit courses must be made publicly available by the institution and provided to each student enrolled in dual credit courses offered by that institution.

Section 20. Standards. All institutions offering dual credit courses shall meet the following standards:

(1) Instructors teaching credit-bearing college-level courses for dual credit must meet the same academic credential requirements as faculty teaching on campus and need not meet certification requirements set out in Article 21 of the School Code.

(2) Instructors in career and technical education courses must possess the credentials and demonstrated teaching competencies appropriate to the field of instruction.

(3) Students must meet the same academic criteria as those enrolled in credit-bearing college courses, including taking appropriate placement testing.

(4) Course content must be the same as that required for credit-bearing college courses.

(5) Learning outcomes must be the same as for credit-bearing college courses and be appropriately measured.

(6) Institutions shall provide high school instructors with an orientation in course curriculum, assessment methods, and administrative requirements before high school instructors are permitted to teach dual credit courses.

(7) Dual credit instructors must be given the opportunity to participate in all activities available to other adjunct faculty, including professional development, seminars, site visits, and internal communication, provided that such opportunities do not interfere with an instructor's regular teaching duties.

(8) Every dual credit course must be reviewed annually by faculty through the appropriate department to ensure consistency with campus courses.

(9) Dual credit students must be assessed using methods consistent with students in traditional credit-bearing college courses.

Section 25. Oversight, review, and reporting.

(a) The Illinois Community College Board shall be responsible for oversight and review of dual credit programs offered jointly by public community colleges and high schools. The Illinois Community College Board shall implement a review process and criteria for evaluating dual credit program quality based upon the standards enumerated in Section 20 of this Act.

(b) The Board of Higher Education shall be responsible for oversight and review of dual credit programs offered jointly by high schools and institutions, except for public community colleges as provided in subsection (a) of this Section. The Board of Higher Education shall develop and implement a review process based on the standards enumerated in Section 20 of this Act.

(c) Each institution shall report annually to the appropriate agency, the Illinois Community College Board or the Board of Higher Education. The reports shall include, but not be limited to, the following data:

(1) Number and description of dual credit courses.

(2) Faculty teaching dual credit courses and their academic credentials.

(3) Enrollments in dual credit courses.

(4) Sites of dual credit offerings.

Section 30. Accountability.

(a) The State Board of Education, the Illinois Community College Board, and the Board of Higher Education shall include information regarding student participation and performance in dual credit programs and their success in postsecondary education in a statewide longitudinal data system.

(b) The data system shall track dual credit students and courses on student records.

(c) Analysis of data relating to student success in dual credit courses as well as performance in postsecondary education must be incorporated into the evaluation of dual credit programs in both high school and college.