Public Act 097-0290
 
SB1798 EnrolledLRB097 09993 RPM 50163 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 3. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended by
changing Section 8 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 205/8)  (from Ch. 144, par. 188)
    Sec. 8. The Board of Trustees of the University of
Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois
University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University,
the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, the Board
of Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of
Trustees of Illinois State University, the Board of Trustees of
Northeastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of
Northern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Western
Illinois University, and the Illinois Community College Board
shall submit to the Board not later than the 15th day of
November of each year its budget proposals for the operation
and capital needs of the institutions under its governance or
supervision for the ensuing fiscal year. Each budget proposal
shall conform to the procedures developed by the Board in the
design of an information system for State universities and
colleges.
    In order to maintain a cohesive system of higher education,
the Board and its staff shall communicate on a regular basis
with all public university presidents. They shall meet at least
semiannually to achieve economies of scale where possible and
provide the most innovative and efficient programs and
services.
    The Board, in the analysis of formulating the annual budget
request, shall consider rates of tuition and fees and
undergraduate tuition and fee waiver programs at the state
universities and colleges. The Board shall also consider the
current and projected utilization of the total physical plant
of each campus of a university or college in approving the
capital budget for any new building or facility.
    The Board of Higher Education shall submit to the Governor,
to the General Assembly, and to the appropriate budget agencies
of the Governor and General Assembly its analysis and
recommendations on such budget proposals.
    Each state supported institution within the application of
this Act must submit its plan for capital improvements of
non-instructional facilities to the Board for approval before
final commitments are made. Non-instructional uses shall
include but not be limited to dormitories, union buildings,
field houses, stadium, other recreational facilities and
parking lots. The Board shall determine whether or not any
project submitted for approval is consistent with the master
plan for higher education and with instructional buildings that
are provided for therein. If the project is found by a majority
of the Board not to be consistent, such capital improvement
shall not be constructed.
(Source: P.A. 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)
 
    Section 5. The Eastern Illinois University Law is amended
by adding Section 10-92 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 665/10-92 new)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2019)
    Sec. 10-92. Tuition waiver limitation pilot program.
    (a) The General Assembly makes all of the following
findings:
        (1) Both access and affordability are important points
    in the Illinois Public Agenda for College and Career
    Success.
        (2) This State is in the top quartile with respect to
    the percentage of family income needed to pay for college.
        (3) Research suggests that as loan amounts increase,
    versus grants-in-aid, the probability of college
    attendance decreases.
        (4) There is further research indicating socioeconomic
    status may affect the willingness of students to use loans
    to attend college.
        (5) Strategic use of tuition waivers will decrease the
    amount of loans that students must use to pay for tuition.
        (6) A modest, individually tailored tuition waiver can
    make the difference in choosing to attend college and would
    enhance college access for low (up to 150% of the federal
    poverty level) and middle income (151% to 300% of the
    federal poverty level) families.
        (7) Even if the federally calculated financial need for
    college attendance is met, the federally determined
    Expected Family Contribution can still be a daunting
    amount.
        (8) This State is the second largest exporter of
    students in the country.
        (9) Illinois students need to be kept in this State.
    State universities in other states have adopted pricing and
    incentives that make college expenses for residents of this
    State less than in this State.
        (10) A mechanism is needed to stop the outflow of
    Illinois students to institutions in other states,
    assisting in State efforts to maintain and educate a highly
    trained workforce.
        (11) By being competitive on costs of attendance, this
    State can bring out-of-state students to this State.
        (12) The pilot program established under this Section
    will allow Eastern Illinois University to compete for
    highly qualified students who may reside in other states by
    mitigating the effect of cost differences.
        (13) Modest tuition waivers, individually targeted and
    tailored, result in enhanced revenue for university
    programs.
        (14) By increasing Eastern Illinois University's
    capacity to strategically use tuition waivers, the
    University will be capable of creating enhanced tuition
    revenue by increasing enrollment yields.
        (15) The Board of Higher Education's current
    institutional tuition waiver limitation is 3% of total
    available undergraduate tuition revenue.
    (b) The Board shall establish a pilot program to increase
the Board of Higher Education's institutional tuition waiver
limitation for the university over a 4-year period to increase
access to college and make college more affordable for
undergraduate students. Under the pilot program, the
institutional tuition waiver limitation shall be increased by 2
percentage points in the 2012-2013 academic year, 2 percentage
points in the 2013-2014 academic year, 2 percentage points in
the 2014-2015 academic year, and one percentage point in the
2015-2016 academic year, resulting in an institutional tuition
waiver limitation of 10% in the fourth year of the pilot
program.
    (c) The pilot program shall require that students who
receive a tuition waiver under the pilot program be accepted to
the university through normal admissions standards and
processes. Individual tuition waivers granted under the pilot
program must not exceed $2,500 per academic year. The pilot
program shall provide a maximum of one waiver per academic year
for a maximum of 4 years to each student in the pilot program
who maintains satisfactory academic progress. The pilot
program shall be terminated after the 2015-2016 academic year,
with no new students receiving waivers. However,
notwithstanding the Board of Higher Education's institutional
tuition waiver limitation, existing students receiving waivers
under the pilot program are eligible to maintain those waivers,
with satisfactory academic progress, under the 4-year
limitation, after the 2015-2016 academic year due to
maintenance of effort within their 4-year window. Sunset dates
for waiver support shall be based upon the first academic year
in which a student receives a waiver. The sunset dates are as
follows for each annual cohort of pilot program participants:
        (1) Cohort 1: the beginning year is 2012-2013 and the
    terminal year is 2015-2016.
        (2) Cohort 2: the beginning year is 2013-2014 and the
    terminal year is 2016-2017.
        (3) Cohort 3: the beginning year is 2014-2015 and the
    terminal year is 2017-2018.
        (4) Cohort 4: the beginning year is 2015-2016 and the
    terminal year is 2018-2019.
    (d) The Board shall annually report to the Board of Higher
Education on the pilot program's impact on tuition revenue,
enrollment goals, and increasing access and affordability on
such dates as the Board of Higher Education shall determine.
    (e) The Board of Higher Education may adopt any rules that
are necessary to implement this Section.
    (f) This Section is repealed on July 1, 2019.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2011.