SB3566 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 20413 AXK 35741 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB3566

Introduced 2/16/2018, by Sen. Chapin Rose

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

110 ILCS 205/9.07a new

Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Requires the Board of Higher Education to establish a uniform admission process online, which must be used at all public institutions of higher education; sets forth what components this admission process must include. Effective July 1, 2018.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended by adding Section 9.07a as follows:

(110 ILCS 205/9.07a new)

Sec. 9.07a. Uniform admission process. The Board shall establish a uniform admission process online, which must be used at all public institutions of higher education. The goal of this uniform admission process program is to ensure that no matter which institution an applicant initially applies to, if that institution denies the applicant acceptance, then the applicant will be offered admission to another public institution of higher education. This admission process must include the following components:

(1) The Board shall create a uniform admission application known as the "Universal App", to be accepted at all public institutions of higher education. The Board shall make the Universal App available online on the Board's website. The Board shall inform all high schools in this State of the availability of the Universal App online, and high school personnel shall provide this information to students and their parents or guardian. Each high school shall allow a student, with the help of high school personnel, to complete the Universal App during school hours if the student's parent or guardian has not chosen to opt the student out of using school hours for that purpose. Universal App data must be sent to all public universities. An applicant who is not offered admission to a public university must be automatically referred to the community college district where the applicant resides and provided with enrollment information from that district.

(2) If a public institution of higher education accepts a person for admission to the institution, the person shall receive a letter of acceptance from the institution, which shall set forth any grant or scholarship offers extended by the institution at that time. However, nothing shall prevent the institution from subsequently enhancing such grant or scholarship offers to the person.

(3) The process must be integrated such that if an applicant is not accepted for admission to the public institution of higher education that he or she applied to, then the Board shall forward his or her Universal App to other public institutions of higher education whose admission standards are reasonably in line with the applicant's qualifications and who have programs and areas of study that the applicant wishes to enroll in. However, the Board, in so forwarding the Universal App to an institution that matches the applicant's qualifications and criteria, shall also ensure that it maximizes the optimal efficiencies of each academic department of an institution and each institution itself by forwarding the Universal App to institutions with a goal of ensuring that departments and institutions are operating with a critical mass of students to operate efficiently. The Board shall also forward the Universal App to the community college district where the applicant resides.

(4) All admission decisions shall be made by each public institution of higher education, not the Board.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2018.