101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB1309

 

Introduced 2/7/2019, 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 beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year; sets forth what components this admission process must include. Effective July 1, 2019.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

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 5. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended by
5adding Section 9.07a as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 205/9.07a new)
7    Sec. 9.07a. Uniform admission process. The Board shall
8establish a uniform admission process online, which must be
9used at all public institutions of higher education beginning
10with the 2021-2022 academic year. The goal of this uniform
11admission process program is to ensure that no matter which
12institution an applicant initially applies to, if that
13institution denies the applicant acceptance, then the
14applicant may be offered admission to another public
15institution of higher education. This admission process must
16include the following components:
17        (1) The Board shall create a uniform admission
18    application known as the "Universal App", to be accepted at
19    all public institutions of higher education. The Board
20    shall make the Universal App available online on the
21    Board's website. The Board shall inform all high schools in
22    this State of the availability of the Universal App online,
23    and high school personnel shall provide this information to

 

 

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1    students and their parents or guardian. Each high school
2    shall allow a student, with the help of high school
3    personnel, to complete the Universal App during school
4    hours if the student's parent or guardian has not chosen to
5    opt the student out of using school hours for that purpose.
6    Universal App data must be sent to all public universities.
7    An applicant who is not offered admission to a public
8    university must be automatically referred to the community
9    college district where the applicant resides and provided
10    with enrollment information from that district.
11        (2) If a public institution of higher education accepts
12    a person for admission to the institution, the person shall
13    receive a letter of acceptance from the institution, which
14    shall set forth any grant or scholarship offers extended by
15    the institution at that time. However, nothing shall
16    prevent the institution from subsequently enhancing such
17    grant or scholarship offers to the person.
18        (3) The process must be integrated so that an applicant
19    may choose which public institutions of higher education
20    will receive his or her application and may rank the
21    institutions in order of his or her preference of
22    attendance. The process must also be integrated so that an
23    applicant may choose to indicate that if he or she is not
24    offered admittance to any of his or her indicated public
25    institutions of choice, the Board may forward his or her
26    academic information to all other public institutions of

 

 

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1    higher education. Public institutions of higher education
2    may choose to admit the student based upon the
3    institution's criteria and shall notify the student of his
4    or her admittance. The Board shall also forward the
5    Universal App to the community college district where the
6    applicant resides.
7        (4) The Board may charge an applicant an application
8    fee of no more than $25 for completing a Universal App
9    under this Section. This fee may be paid by credit card or
10    a check payable to the Board of Higher Education and shall
11    be deposited into the Universal App Fund, which is hereby
12    created as a nonappropriated trust fund to be held outside
13    the State treasury, with the State Treasurer as custodian.
14    Money in the Fund shall be used only for operation costs
15    relating to the Universal App. Any excess money in the Fund
16    not used by the Board for operation costs shall be
17    distributed by the Board to public institutions of higher
18    education.
19        (5) All admission decisions shall be made by each
20    public institution of higher education, not the Board.
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
222019.