Full Text of HR0774 102nd General Assembly
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION 774
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Colleges may place a "hold" on student accounts | 3 | | for various reasons, including having an outstanding balance | 4 | | from unpaid tuition, room and board, library fees, or parking | 5 | | fines; a hold can also occur for nonmonetary reasons, such as | 6 | | conduct violations or unreturned equipment; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, When students are enrolled, this hold might | 8 | | prevent them from registering for the next term and continuing | 9 | | their studies; colleges can also withhold the transcripts of | 10 | | current or former students wishing to transfer to another | 11 | | institution or to apply for an internship or a job if they have | 12 | | a hold on their student account; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Credits these students have earned are left | 14 | | "stranded" at the institution until they rectify the | 15 | | situation, leaving many students in educational limbo; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, In a 2020 report, the research group Ithaka S+R | 17 | | estimated that approximately 6.6 million current and former | 18 | | students, many of them adults who did not complete their | 19 | | secondary education, owed as much as $15 billion as of 2018; | 20 | | the average unpaid balance was $2,300; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The report cites a 2016 survey from the National |
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| 1 | | Association of College and University Business Officers | 2 | | revealing that 98 percent of colleges admitted to withholding | 3 | | transcripts as a debt collection tactic; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In 2021, the American Association of Collegiate | 5 | | Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) issued a similar | 6 | | report stating that 95 percent of colleges withhold | 7 | | transcripts with 64 percent placing a hold for balances of | 8 | | less than $25; within their sample group, 42 percent of holds | 9 | | preventing access to a transcript were for debts under $1,000; | 10 | | and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Ithaka's 2021 follow-up report titled "Stranded | 12 | | Credits: A Matter of Equity" claims this problem | 13 | | disproportionately affects students of color and those from | 14 | | low socioeconomic backgrounds; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, For students, especially students of color, first | 16 | | generation, and/or those from low-income backgrounds, stranded | 17 | | credits are the difference between dropping out and earning a | 18 | | degree and securing a better future; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Public colleges enrolling more than 40 percent of | 20 | | Pell-eligible students are more likely to withhold transcripts | 21 | | for an outstanding balance; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, As of the fall of 2021, Eastern Illinois | 2 | | University has $50.4 million owed by 8,900 students to the | 3 | | University; as of March 8, 2022, Western Illinois University | 4 | | had 203 students that had been registered in the fall semester | 5 | | that owe the University over $1,000; the University of | 6 | | Illinois System places financial holds in October to students | 7 | | with a past due balance from fall tuition and fees, which acts | 8 | | as a reminder to students of their delinquent balance, and the | 9 | | majority of holds are addressed by the spring, with the latest | 10 | | delinquent balance hovering at $5.9 million, down from $114.5 | 11 | | million in the fall; students who have balances greater than | 12 | | $1,500 are prohibited from registering for a future term; the | 13 | | University System also restricts transcript access to students | 14 | | with past due balances of $25 or more; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The problem is most prevalent at community | 16 | | colleges, which Ithaka estimates could have as many as three | 17 | | million former students with stranded credits; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, At the state level, California became the first | 19 | | state to ban transcript holds at public and private colleges | 20 | | in 2019; Washington state enacted a similar law allowing | 21 | | students with balances to access transcripts; in 2020, | 22 | | Louisiana passed similar legislation, although Louisiana's law | 23 | | pertains only to public colleges; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A 2021 Massachusetts bill proposed granting | 2 | | students access to academic transcripts; in January of 2022, | 3 | | Maine introduced a measure to ban transcript holds for | 4 | | students at four-year colleges owing $2,500 or less and for | 5 | | those at two-year colleges owing less than $500; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that | 7 | | the State University of New York ended the practice of | 8 | | withholding transcripts; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, In 2021, the City University of New York (CUNY) | 10 | | system banned transcript holds because of pandemic concerns; | 11 | | some 74,000 students benefited from this decision and were | 12 | | allowed to register with outstanding balances; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Since
January of 2021, Northeastern Illinois | 14 | | University (NEIU) has provided over $272,000 in debt relief | 15 | | funds for students who dropped
out in order to assist them in | 16 | | re-enrolling at NEIU; the "Come Home to NEIU" stop out | 17 | | initiative encouraged
students with good academic standing who | 18 | | previously attended NEIU to return to the University
and | 19 | | continue taking classes to complete their degrees; in 2021, 59 | 20 | | students returned to NEIU;
for those students, up to $3,000 of | 21 | | their debt was waived and they received a $1,250
scholarship; | 22 | | currently, the past due debt amount for NEIU students is | 23 | | approximately $27 million; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Governors State University
allows students to | 2 | | register if they have set up a payment plan and are actively | 3 | | making their payments; however, students with holds are | 4 | | prevented from obtaining transcripts; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Ithaka is working on a pilot program in Ohio, | 6 | | which is to launch in the spring of 2022; under this Ohio | 7 | | program, a student with debt can transfer to one of the eight | 8 | | participating colleges, and the original institution will | 9 | | forgive their debt and release their transcript; in return, | 10 | | the college to which the student is transferring will owe a | 11 | | small fee to compensate the initial institution for its loss; | 12 | | and | 13 | | WHEREAS, In 1998, the U.S. Department of Education issued | 14 | | a "Dear Colleague" letter encouraging colleges to withhold | 15 | | transcripts in cases involving loan defaults and has yet to | 16 | | officially reverse its stance on that matter; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The AACRAO report notes that among its study | 18 | | participants, 66 percent have a debt-elimination program, and | 19 | | 29 percent offer debt-forgiveness, such as Wayne State | 20 | | University's Warrior Way Back program; two-thirds have used | 21 | | funding from the CARES Act to forgive outstanding student debt | 22 | | during the COVID-19 pandemic; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The practice of holding transcripts, degrees, and | 2 | | the ability to enroll into classes has flourished as a means to | 3 | | create revenue; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Increasing enrollment at our public universities | 5 | | should include and not ignore students that have a desire to | 6 | | enroll; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Students who earn degrees and get jobs are far | 8 | | more likely to be in a financial position to settle their debt; | 9 | | yet this is made harder by universities placing holds on | 10 | | student's account for minor debts; therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 12 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 13 | | we urge Governor JB Pritzker and public and private | 14 | | universities in Illinois to explore the idea of allowing | 15 | | students who are prohibited from re-enrolling in college | 16 | | because of past due debt to the university to finish their | 17 | | degrees; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Department of | 19 | | Education to rescind its 1998 "Dear Colleague" letter | 20 | | encouraging colleges to withhold transcripts in cases | 21 | | involving loan defaults; and be it further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage the United States Congress to | 2 | | urge the U.S. Department of Education to rescind its "Dear | 3 | | Colleague" letter; and be it further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to JB Pritzker, all institutions of higher learning | 6 | | in the State of Illinois, the U.S. Department of Education, | 7 | | and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
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