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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, In 1993, the Illinois Board of Higher Education,
3the Illinois Community College Board, and the Transfer
4Coordinators of Illinois Colleges and Universities brought
5together faculty from public and independent, associate and
6baccalaureate degree-granting institutions across the state to
7develop the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI); and
 
8    WHEREAS, The goal of IAI is to facilitate the transfer of
9courses from one participating college or university to another
10in order to complete a baccalaureate degree; the three key
11concepts providing the underlying foundation for IAI are: (1)
12that "associate and baccalaureate degree-granting institutions
13are equal partners" in educating college freshmen and
14sophomores, (2) that "faculties should take primary
15responsibility for developing and maintaining program and
16course articulation", and (3) that "institutions are expected
17to work together to assure that lower-division baccalaureate
18programs are comparable in scope, quality, and academic rigor";
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, Today's college students can get the degree they
21desire, close to home, and with the assurance of a successful
22career right here in Illinois; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Cutting-edge academic programs, such as
2iTransfer.org and MyCreditsTransfer, are available to serve
3recent high school graduates and those who are balancing their
4education with working, parenting, and service to our country;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, While Illinois is a leading state for college
7completion rates for adult learners and transfer students from
8community colleges, Illinois needs to increase the number of
9high-quality postsecondary credentials to meet the demands of
10the economy and an increasingly global society; and
 
11    WHEREAS, With the rising costs of higher education for
12Illinois students and families, the State needs to ensure that
13the General Education Core Curriculum courses Illinois
14residents enroll in at higher education institutions and as a
15part of dual credit in high school in Illinois will transfer
16with full credit for the student and be accepted at an Illinois
17public or private institution as they pursue a baccalaureate
18degree; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Illinois can do this by improving transitions all
20along the education pipeline; for postsecondary education,
21this means strengthening articulation through stable funding
22and the expansion of transfer tools, such as Transferology and
23the IAI through development of an objective measure of transfer

 

 

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1and acceptance of credits; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
4CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Board of Higher Education and the
5Illinois Community College Board jointly identify any
6shortcomings in attaining the goals of Public Act 99-636 that
7the General Education Core Curriculum courses transfer between
8institutions with full credit towards a baccalaureate degree;
9and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That we direct each four-year institution within
11the IAI to review the transfer credits of all incoming transfer
12students at its institution to find any instances where courses
13are not deemed transferable with full credit, including those
14courses that serve as prerequisites within a major; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That we direct each public institution that
17participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative to work
18with the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois
19Community College Board to assure their compliance with the law
20that their General Education Core curricula: (1) are aligned
21with the IAI course codes, (2) accept, with full credit, toward
22a baccalaureate degree any courses students have taken in the
23General Education Core Curriculum Package for other public

 

 

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1institutions in Illinois, (3) do not require transferring
2students to retake general education as prerequisites core
3curriculum courses that were part of the IAI curriculum
4packages, or take additional general education courses beyond
5the package, and (4) the course numbering systems at each
6institution adequately reflect the corresponding course codes
7used by the Illinois Articulation Initiative; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That we direct the Illinois Board of Higher
9Education and the Illinois Community College Board to work with
10the Illinois State Board of Education and each institution to
11educate and inform high school counselors across the State on
12the workings of the IAI and the General Education Core
13Curriculum and its course transferability processes and
14procedures; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That we direct the Illinois Board of Higher
16Education and the Illinois Community College Board to develop a
17report on the results of this review of the Illinois
18Articulation Initiative and recommend to the Governor and the
19General Assembly any actions necessary to achieve the stated
20goals of this resolution by January 9, 2020.