101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4992

 

Introduced 2/18/2020, by Rep. Deanne M. Mazzochi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Cap College Costs Pilot Program Act. Provides that the State Board of Education, Illinois Community College Board, and Board of Higher Education must develop and implement the Cap College Costs Pilot Program. Provides that under the program, one public high school, one public community college, and one public university in this State shall be chosen to develop a competency-based baccalaureate degree program that focuses on the fundamental issues and texts of western civilization; specifies what the goals of the program must include. Provides that the curriculum of the pilot program must include course instruction on various periods of western civilization in areas that include, but are not limited to, philosophy, literature, history, religion, government and politics, art, and architecture and must allow for 2 courses of instruction on global areas outside of western civilization in those same areas. Sets forth provisions concerning open educational resources. Provides that after the first cohort of students complete the pilot program, the State Board of Education, Illinois Community College Board, and Board of Higher Education must submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly detailing the impact of the pilot program on specified issues. Provides that the Act is inoperative on and after the submission of the report. Effective immediately.


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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 Cap
5College Costs Pilot Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly makes all of the
7following findings:
8        (1) A college degree involving a substantive and
9    rigorous curriculum that is designed to challenge people's
10    minds, enhance their knowledge and skills, and prepare them
11    for success as future citizens can be a valuable asset to
12    State residents.
13        (2) Public community colleges and universities offer
14    multiple existing courses of study pertaining to
15    fundamental foundational topics that have historically
16    served as the foundation for degrees in the humanities,
17    including art, philosophy, logic and rhetoric, history,
18    literature, world religions, world languages, and
19    classical civilization studies. These may be classified as
20    high-impact courses.
21        (3) Many State residents will experience disruptions
22    or economic hardships when seeking a college degree.
23        (4) It is in the interests of State residents to

 

 

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1    identify affordable pathways to secure a college degree.
2        (5) Creating a degree pathway based on high-impact
3    courses will facilitate the creation of a degree program
4    that costs less than $20,000 for the entire degree.
5        (6) It is also in the interests of State residents to
6    create and promote open educational resources, which are
7    teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in
8    the public domain or have been released under an
9    intellectual property license and that allow for free use,
10    reuse, modification, and sharing with others, including
11    full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks,
12    streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools,
13    materials, or techniques used to support access to
14    knowledge. Many foundational materials and original
15    sources used in high-impact courses are particularly
16    likely to fall into this category.
 
17    Section 10. Cap College Costs Pilot Program.
18    (a) Subject to appropriation, beginning with the 2020-2021
19academic year or, if funds are not appropriated for the program
20that academic year, beginning with the academic year in which
21funds are appropriated for the program, or, if funds are not
22appropriated for the program that academic year but a source of
23outside funding is secured to support the program, the State
24Board of Education, Illinois Community College Board, and Board
25of Higher Education must develop and implement the Cap College

 

 

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1Costs Pilot Program. Under the program, one public high school,
2one public community college, and one public university in this
3State shall be chosen to develop a competency-based
4baccalaureate degree program that focuses on the fundamental
5issues and texts of western civilization. The goals of the
6program must include all of the following:
7        (1) To prepare students who complete the program with
8    the requisite problem-solving, inquiry, and communication
9    skills needed for employment or further graduate study.
10        (2) To use open educational resources.
11        (3) To promote dual credit course enrollment in the
12    participating high school.
13        (4) To have a $20,000 maximum tuition rate.
14    (b) The curriculum of the pilot program created under this
15Section must include course instruction on various periods of
16western civilization in areas that include, but are not limited
17to, philosophy, literature, history, religion, government and
18politics, art, and architecture. The program must allow for 2
19courses of instruction on global areas outside of western
20civilization in areas that include, but are not limited to,
21philosophy, literature, history, religion, government and
22politics, art, and architecture.
 
23    Section 15. Open educational resources; panel; grant
24program.
25    (a) The State Board of Education, Illinois Community

 

 

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1College Board, and Board of Higher Education shall create a
2panel comprised of all of the following members, who shall
3serve without compensation:
4        (1) Eight persons from institutions of higher
5    education located in this State appointed by the Executive
6    Director of the Board of Higher Education, including at
7    least 2 representatives from a university, one
8    representative from a community college in Cook County, one
9    representative from a community college with a district
10    boundary that includes some portion of DuPage, Kane, Lake,
11    McHenry, or Will County, one representative from a
12    community college in downstate Illinois, and one
13    representative from a nonpublic university that has
14    participated in articulation agreements with a community
15    college.
16        (2) Two persons each from a high school located in this
17    State that offers dual credit programs, preferably from
18    geographically diverse regions, appointed by the State
19    Superintendent Education.
20        (3) A person from the State Board of Education
21    appointed by the State Board of Education, a person from
22    the Illinois Community College Board appointed by the
23    Illinois Community College Board, and a person from the
24    Board of Higher Education appointed by the Board of Higher
25    Education.
26        (4) Two members appointed by the Governor.

 

 

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1        (5) One member of the House of Representative appointed
2    by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one member
3    of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority
4    Leader of the House of Representatives, one member of the
5    Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, and one
6    member of the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of
7    the Senate.
8    Appointments under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
9subsection (a) shall include at least 4 faculty members, a
10library professional, an instructional design expert, and 2
11academic administrators.
12    The Board of Higher Education shall provide administrative
13and other support to the panel.
14    The Executive Director of the Board of Higher Education
15shall convene the first meeting of the panel no later than
16September 1, 2020.
17    The panel shall seek to identify initiatives to support the
18use of open educational resource materials and make
19recommendations to the General Assembly no later than December
2031, 2021.
21    (b) Each campus of a public university or public community
22college district shall, upon request of its board of trustees,
23do both of the following:
24        (1) Clearly highlight, by means that may include a
25    symbol or logo in a conspicuous place on the online campus
26    course schedule, the courses that exclusively use digital

 

 

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1    course materials that are free of charge to students or
2    that may have a low-cost option for print versions.
3        (2) Ensure that the materials comply with the federal
4    Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the federal
5    Copyright Act of 1976.
6    (c) Subject to appropriation or third-party funding, the
7Illinois Community College Board shall establish and
8administer a grant program to encourage faculty at institutions
9of higher education to adopt, modify, redesign, or develop
10courses that use only open educational resources in support of
11the degree program set forth in Section 10.
12    Any individual who receives a grant under this subsection
13(c) shall ensure that any open educational resources used in a
14course is provided to a student enrolled in the course at no
15cost other than the cost of printing.
16    A faculty member who receives a grant under this subsection
17(c) must submit to the Illinois Community College Board for
18each of the 4 semesters immediately following the
19implementation of the course a report that includes:
20        (1) the number of students who have completed the
21    course;
22        (2) an estimate of the amount of money saved by a
23    student due to the use of open educational resources in the
24    course;
25        (3) the number of faculty members, if any, who adopted
26    the course curriculum; and

 

 

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1        (4) any other information required as a condition of
2    the grant.
 
3    Section 20. Reporting.
4    (a) After the first cohort of students complete the pilot
5program under Section 10, the State Board of Education,
6Illinois Community College Board, and Board of Higher Education
7must submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly
8detailing the impact of the pilot program on all of the
9following:
10        (1) Reducing the costs of attending an institution of
11    higher learning and overall student loan debt.
12        (2) Elevating the importance of coursework in the
13    classical liberal arts.
14        (3) Creating a model curriculum that can be replicated
15    through partnerships between other institutions of higher
16    learning and school districts across this State.
17    (b) This Act is inoperative on and after the State Board of
18Education, Illinois Community College Board, and Board of
19Higher Education submit the report required under subsection
20(a).
 
21    Section 90. Rules. The Illinois Community College Board, in
22consultation with the State Board of Education and the Board of
23Higher Education, must adopt rules to implement this Act.
 
24    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.