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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 69

 
2     WHEREAS, Postsecondary education is essential in the
3 modern economy; and
 
4     WHEREAS, The demographics of Illinois' population are
5 changing dramatically and rapidly; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The demands of employers in every sector of the
7 economy require ever-higher levels of educational attainment;
8 and
 
9     WHEREAS, The National Conference of State Legislatures
10 issued a Blue Ribbon Commission report, "Transforming Higher
11 Education - National Imperative, State Responsibility", in
12 October 2006, calling for the development of a state higher
13 education agenda; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The Board of Higher Education has the statutory
15 responsibility for higher education master planning;
16 therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
19 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Board of Higher Education
20 undertake a master plan for Illinois higher education through

 

 

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1 the creation of a Task Force on Higher Education and the
2 Economy to study the challenges and opportunities facing higher
3 education, the State's workforce needs, demographic trends,
4 and higher education funding and student financial aid; and be
5 it further
 
6     RESOLVED, that the Task Force shall be chaired by the
7 Chairperson of the Board of Higher Education and be composed of
8 4 members of the General Assembly, one appointed by the Speaker
9 of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the Minority
10 Leader of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the
11 President of the Senate, and one appointed by the Minority
12 Leader of the Senate; and 20 members appointed by the Governor,
13 from nominees recommended by the Board of Higher Education, as
14 follows:
15         (1) a president or senior administrator of a public
16     university;
17         (2) a trustee of a community college;
18         (3) a president or senior administrator of a community
19     college;
20         (4) a representative of the independent,
21     not-for-profit education sector;
22         (5) 3 business leaders from statewide business
23     associations, an Illinois-based corporation, or the
24     Illinois Workforce Investment Board;
25         (6) a leader of a civic or nonprofit organization or

 

 

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1     foundation;
2         (7) a leader of the healthcare industry;
3         (8) an expert in student financial aid;
4         (9) a school district superintendent;
5         (10) a labor leader representing a statewide labor
6     organization;
7         (11) 2 faculty members or academic professionals from
8     community colleges;
9         (12) 2 faculty members or academic professionals from
10     public universities;
11         (13) one faculty member nominated by the Faculty
12     Advisory Council to the Board of Higher Education;
13         (14) one student nominated by the Student Advisory
14     Committee to the Board of Higher Education;
15         (15) one nationally recognized leader in higher
16     education policy; and
17         (16) a representative of the proprietary education
18     sector; and be it further
 
19     RESOLVED, That the master plan shall do the following:
20         (1) define the public needs for higher education,
21     through collection and analysis of data about the State's
22     (i) social conditions, including age, race and ethnicity,
23     family structure, family income, regional differences,
24     educational attainment, population migration, and health
25     characteristics; (ii) economic conditions, including

 

 

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1     industry mix, importing and exporting, economic strengths,
2     effects of globalization, State gross domestic product,
3     tax collections, new business starts, regional
4     differences, personal income, and healthcare quality and
5     availability; and (iii) educational conditions, including
6     governance and coordination, finance, achievement gaps,
7     student pipeline issues, healthcare and professional
8     education, institutional focus, and regional differences;
9         (2) review existing policies to determine how the
10     Illinois higher education system operates and meets the
11     public needs of this State in such areas as (i) preparation
12     for the workplace and college, including kindergarten
13     through grade 12 student development, teacher and school
14     leader preparation, dual enrollment, curriculum alignment
15     between kindergarten through grade 12 schools and higher
16     education, use of placement examinations, high school
17     graduation standards, and college entrance requirements,
18     the need for remedial coursework in colleges and
19     universities, adult education and adult literacy,
20     mechanisms for feedback on student and graduate
21     performance, data systems, efficiency and productivity,
22     marketing, and financial implications; (ii) postsecondary
23     participation, including institutional and sector
24     capacity, underrepresented groups, distance education,
25     off-campus degree completion opportunities, dual
26     enrollment, counseling, advising, and other student

 

 

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1     services, adult education, healthcare, graduate and
2     professional training, certificate and workforce training,
3     data systems, efficiency, and productivity, marketing, and
4     financial implications; (iii) affordability, including
5     adequacy of campus funding, tuition and fee policies,
6     financial aid programs and policies (including need-based
7     aid, merit-based aid, institutional aid, waiver programs,
8     savings programs, loan programs, healthcare, and graduate
9     professional training), the relationship between public
10     funding, tuition and fees, and financial aid, data systems,
11     and efficiency and productivity, (iv) degree completion,
12     including counseling, advising, childcare, and other
13     student services, underrepresented groups, off-campus
14     degree completion, transfer agreements, the Illinois
15     Articulation Initiative, the Course Applicability System,
16     stop-out and dropout intervention, student goals less than
17     a degree, and data systems, efficiency, and productivity,
18     (v) research and economic development, focusing on
19     critical workforce needs, workforce development, adult
20     education and retraining, research and development,
21     applied research activities, technology transfer,
22     retention of graduates, health care provision and
23     training, regional cultural resources, data systems,
24     efficiency, and productivity, and financial implications;
25     and (vi) learning, including student assessment, use of
26     placement exams, achievement gaps, remediation, and

 

 

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1     student performance feedback systems; and
2         (3) provide recommendations for statewide goals for
3     higher education, sector and institutional roles and
4     responsibilities, accountability measures, coordination
5     strategies, and a schedule for implementation; and be it
6     further
 
7     RESOLVED, That the Board of Higher Education may draw on
8 the expertise and research of national educational consultants
9 and State institutional policy centers; and be it further
 
10     RESOLVED, That the House and Senate higher education and
11 higher education appropriation committees may hold hearings to
12 explore such issues as college preparation, degree persistence
13 and completion, affordability, the needs of nontraditional
14 students, the effect of demographic trends on enrollments,
15 student services, and degree completion, finance and student
16 aid, deferred maintenance and capital needs, and other topics
17 as determined by these committees; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That the Board of Higher Education shall present
19 a preliminary report to the Task Force on its findings and
20 conclusions based on the collection and review of data, its
21 audit of existing policies, and public hearings; and be it
22 further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That the Board of Higher Education shall provide
2 quarterly progress reports to the Governor, legislative
3 leaders, the House and Senate Higher Education Committees, the
4 House Appropriations - Higher Education Committee, and the
5 Senate Appropriations III Committee, with the first report to
6 be completed within 3 months after the appointment of the Task
7 Force; and be it further
 
8     RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall establish a public
9 comment period and mechanisms, including public hearings and a
10 web-based outlet for written testimony, to gather evidence and
11 viewpoints of the public, institutional administrators,
12 students and families, faculty, employers, local civic and
13 educational leaders, and other interested parties and
14 stakeholders regarding the preliminary report; and be it
15 further
 
16     RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall create a master plan
17 and public agenda for higher education that shall consider, but
18 not be limited to, all of the following:
19         (1) demographics of the State's population;
20         (2) the State's economic and educational conditions;
21         (3) educational attainment levels and needs of the
22     State's residents;
23         (4) integration of prekindergarten through grade 12
24     schools and postsecondary education in goals, outcomes,

 

 

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1     and data collection;
2         (5) student pipeline issues, including college
3     readiness, articulation to college, and postsecondary
4     retention, transfer, and graduation rates;
5         (6) adult learners;
6         (7) workforce readiness;
7         (8) college affordability and trends in higher
8     education financing, financial aid, and student debt and
9     alternatives to maximize efficient use of resources;
10         (9) capital needs and deferred maintenance at public
11     colleges and universities;
12         (10) future academic and financial pressures for
13     public higher education, including retention of faculty
14     and staff;
15         (11) innovation in approaches to teaching and
16     learning;
17         (12) the role of higher education in the global
18     competitiveness of the State;
19         (13) the value of academic research;
20         (14) partnerships involving prekindergarten through
21     grade 12 schools, higher education, and business; and
22         (15) productivity and accountability; and be it
23     further
 
24     RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report to the General
25 Assembly and the Governor on or before August 15, 2008 with a

 

 

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1 master plan and public agenda for Illinois higher education
2 that includes each of the following:
3             (1) goals for academic preparation, participation
4     in postsecondary education, affordability, degree
5     completion, research and economic development, and
6     learning;
7             (2) responsibilities for educational sectors and
8     financial implications;
9             (3) accountability measures;
10             (4) coordination; and
11             (5) timelines and responsibilities; and be it
12     further
 
13     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14 delivered to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of
15 Higher Education, the Chairperson of the Illinois Community
16 College Board, the Chairperson of the State Board of Education,
17 the Chairperson of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission,
18 and the President of each public college and university in this
19 State.