SB1309 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 09043 AXK 54136 b

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.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended by adding Section 9.07a as follows:

(110 ILCS 205/9.07a new)

Sec. 9.07a. Uniform admission process. The Board shall establish a uniform admission process online, which must be used at all public institutions of higher education beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year. The goal of this uniform admission process program is to ensure that no matter which institution an applicant initially applies to, if that institution denies the applicant acceptance, then the applicant may be offered admission to another public institution of higher education. This admission process must include the following components:

(1) The Board shall create a uniform admission application known as the "Universal App", to be accepted at all public institutions of higher education. The Board shall make the Universal App available online on the Board's website. The Board shall inform all high schools in this State of the availability of the Universal App online, and high school personnel shall provide this information to students and their parents or guardian. Each high school shall allow a student, with the help of high school personnel, to complete the Universal App during school hours if the student's parent or guardian has not chosen to opt the student out of using school hours for that purpose. Universal App data must be sent to all public universities. An applicant who is not offered admission to a public university must be automatically referred to the community college district where the applicant resides and provided with enrollment information from that district.

(2) If a public institution of higher education accepts a person for admission to the institution, the person shall receive a letter of acceptance from the institution, which shall set forth any grant or scholarship offers extended by the institution at that time. However, nothing shall prevent the institution from subsequently enhancing such grant or scholarship offers to the person.

(3) The process must be integrated so that an applicant may choose which public institutions of higher education will receive his or her application and may rank the institutions in order of his or her preference of attendance. The process must also be integrated so that an applicant may choose to indicate that if he or she is not offered admittance to any of his or her indicated public institutions of choice, the Board may forward his or her academic information to all other public institutions of higher education. Public institutions of higher education may choose to admit the student based upon the institution's criteria and shall notify the student of his or her admittance. The Board shall also forward the Universal App to the community college district where the applicant resides.

(4) The Board may charge an applicant an application fee of no more than $25 for completing a Universal App under this Section. This fee may be paid by credit card or a check payable to the Board of Higher Education and shall be deposited into the Universal App Fund, which is hereby created as a nonappropriated trust fund to be held outside the State treasury, with the State Treasurer as custodian. Money in the Fund shall be used only for operation costs relating to the Universal App. Any excess money in the Fund not used by the Board for operation costs shall be distributed by the Board to public institutions of higher education.

(5) All admission decisions shall be made by each public institution of higher education, not the Board.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2019.