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90_HB3689
110 ILCS 205/9.19 from Ch. 144, par. 189.19
Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Requires the
governing boards of the 9 public universities to award 10%
tuition waivers for 2 semesters or 3 quarters of
undergraduate education to a student who provides or commits
to provide 30 hours of community service. Adopts the Act's
current definition of community service but requires that
service to be rendered on an uncompensated, volunteer basis.
Provides that the University may structure and monitor the
community service provided by a student to assure that the
objectives of the Student Volunteer Corps program are met.
LRB9010920THbd
LRB9010920THbd
1 AN ACT to amend the Board of Higher Education Act by
2 changing Section 9.19.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended
6 by changing Section 9.19 as follows:
7 (110 ILCS 205/9.19) (from Ch. 144, par. 189.19)
8 Sec. 9.19. (a) There is hereby created the Student
9 Volunteer Corps program, to be administered by the Board. The
10 purpose of the program is to provide every college and
11 university student an ongoing opportunity throughout his or
12 her college or university career to participate in a
13 community service activity. Toward this goal, the governing
14 boards of the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois
15 University, Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois
16 University, Governors State University, Illinois State
17 University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern
18 Illinois University, and Western Illinois University shall
19 participate in the Student Volunteer Corps program and shall
20 require that, beginning in the fall term in 1991, all
21 full-time undergraduate students entering each such college
22 and university shall be strongly encouraged and expected,
23 although not required, to participate in the Student
24 Volunteer Corps by providing an average of 30 hours of
25 community service in each academic year. In addition, all
26 public community colleges and private colleges and
27 universities in the State shall be encouraged to participate
28 in the program. Subject to the requirements of subsection
29 (e) of this Section as applied to each of the governing
30 boards of the 9 public universities of this State, each
31 college and university shall determine how to encourage and
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1 monitor participation by its students. The Board shall
2 strongly encourage each college and university to develop
3 flexible programs that permit the widest possible student
4 involvement, including participation by part-time students
5 and others for whom participation may be difficult due to
6 financial, academic, personal, or other considerations.
7 (b) For purposes of this Section, "community service"
8 means work or service performed by students either
9 voluntarily or for some form of compensation or academic
10 credit through nonprofit, governmental, and community-based
11 organizations, or schools, colleges and universities. In
12 general, the work or service should be designed to provide
13 direct experience with people or project planning, and should
14 have the goal of improving the quality of life for the
15 community. Eligible activities may include, but are not
16 limited to, tutoring, literacy training, neighborhood
17 improvement, increasing environmental safety, assisting the
18 elderly or disabled, and providing mental health care,
19 particularly for disadvantaged or low-income residents. In
20 developing community service programs, institutions shall
21 emphasize efforts which can most effectively use the skill of
22 students, such as tutoring programs or literacy programs.
23 (c) Each participating institution shall establish, by
24 December 1, 1990, a Student Volunteer Corps task force
25 composed of students, faculty and campus administration. Each
26 task force also shall include community representatives from
27 groups such as schools, local businesses, government,
28 nonprofit associations, social services agencies, and
29 philanthropies. Each task force shall reflect the ethnic and
30 racial diversity of the institution and the surrounding
31 community. The purpose of the task force is to strengthen and
32 coordinate existing on-campus and external community service
33 opportunities, expand existing service opportunities and make
34 new service opportunities available, promote the Student
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1 Volunteer Corps to make students, community groups, faculty,
2 employment recruiters and administrators aware of the service
3 expectation, and develop rules and guidelines for the
4 program.
5 Task forces shall develop campus implementation
6 strategies and criteria for program participation. The campus
7 task forces shall also advise the Board and the Illinois
8 State Scholarship Commission on the operation of the program.
9 (d) The Board shall report to the General Assembly not
10 later than November 1, 1990, on the progress being made to
11 establish a Student Volunteer Corps program, together with
12 recommendations for funding the program.
13 (e) The governing boards of the University of Illinois,
14 Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University,
15 Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University,
16 Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University,
17 Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University
18 shall offer a 10% tuition waiver for 2 semesters or 3
19 quarters of undergraduate education at any campus under their
20 respective governance and jurisdiction to any student who
21 provides or commits to provide at least 30 hours of community
22 service in an academic year. A community service program
23 meeting the requirement of this subsection shall fall within
24 the guidelines established by subsection (b), but may be
25 structured and monitored by the University in such manner as
26 to assure that the community service provided by a student
27 meets the objectives of this Section. The student may, but
28 need not be awarded academic credit for the community
29 service, but the service must be rendered by the student as a
30 volunteer and on an uncompensated basis.
31 (Source: P.A. 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)