Full Text of HJR0054 96th General Assembly
HJ0054 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HJ0054 |
|
LRB096 12547 NHT 25750 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, In 2007, the Ninety-fifth General Assembly | 3 |
| adopted House Joint Resolution 69, directing the Board of | 4 |
| Higher Education to develop a master plan for Illinois higher | 5 |
| education; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, On December 9, 2008, the Board of Higher Education | 7 |
| unanimously endorsed the "Public Agenda for College and Career | 8 |
| Success" as the blueprint to guide education policy in this | 9 |
| State for the next decade, codifying 4 major goals: | 10 |
| (1) match Illinois' educational attainment to the | 11 |
| best-performing U.S. states and world countries; | 12 |
| (2) ensure college affordability for students, | 13 |
| families, and taxpayers; | 14 |
| (3) increase quality postsecondary credentials and | 15 |
| elevate higher education graduation rates to meet the | 16 |
| demands of a global society; and | 17 |
| (4) better integrate Illinois' educational, research, | 18 |
| and innovation assets to meet the economic needs of this | 19 |
| State and its regions; and
| 20 |
| WHEREAS, The Public Agenda recommends the specific goal of | 21 |
| making this State one of the 5 most affordable states in the | 22 |
| country; and |
|
|
|
HJ0054 |
- 2 - |
LRB096 12547 NHT 25750 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, The Public Agenda identifies several barriers to | 2 |
| this goal: | 3 |
| (1) dwindling State support for colleges, which | 4 |
| equates to significant tuition increases;
| 5 |
| (2) the diminished buying power of the Monetary Award | 6 |
| Program (MAP), resulting from the failure of State | 7 |
| financial aid to keep pace with tuition increases; | 8 |
| (3) the denial of MAP awards to one-fourth of eligible | 9 |
| students because of funding shortfalls; | 10 |
| (4) increased reliance on loans by middle-income | 11 |
| students to finance college; | 12 |
| (5) increased work hours for students to pay for rising | 13 |
| tuition, often extending their time-to-degree and total | 14 |
| educational costs; and | 15 |
| (6) lack of support for middle-income students (those | 16 |
| at the high end of the second income quintile through the | 17 |
| low end of the fourth income quintile), who typically do | 18 |
| not qualify for need-based grant aid from either State or | 19 |
| federal sources and have been greatly affected by the rise | 20 |
| in out-of-pocket costs as well; and
| 21 |
| WHEREAS, The Public Agenda recommends priorities, | 22 |
| strategies, and actions to address the growing affordability | 23 |
| challenge; therefore, be it
| 24 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
|
|
|
HJ0054 |
- 3 - |
LRB096 12547 NHT 25750 r |
|
| 1 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 2 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Board of Higher Education, | 3 |
| working in concert with the Illinois Student Assistance | 4 |
| Commission and the Illinois Community College Board, shall | 5 |
| undertake a study of college affordability and funding, based | 6 |
| on the findings and recommendations of the Public Agenda for | 7 |
| College and Career Success and including the following: | 8 |
| (1) a review of State financial aid programs for | 9 |
| low-income students to ensure that programs are effective, | 10 |
| efficient, widely understood, and aligned with all Public | 11 |
| Agenda goals; | 12 |
| (2) strategies to help students achieve their | 13 |
| educational objectives faster; | 14 |
| (3) measures to assist middle-income students who do | 15 |
| not typically qualify for need-based grant aid; and | 16 |
| (4) steps to find institutional operating efficiencies | 17 |
| that reduce costs while expanding access and maintaining | 18 |
| quality; and be it further
| 19 |
| RESOLVED, That the Board of Higher Education, the Illinois | 20 |
| Student Assistance Commission, and the Illinois Community | 21 |
| College Board shall prepare a report with findings and | 22 |
| recommendations on improving college affordability and higher | 23 |
| education funding and submit that report to the General | 24 |
| Assembly; and be it further |
|
|
|
HJ0054 |
- 4 - |
LRB096 12547 NHT 25750 r |
|
| 1 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 2 |
| delivered to the chairpersons of the Board of Higher Education, | 3 |
| the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and the Illinois | 4 |
| Community College Board.
|
|