SJ0041eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 41

(As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 1)

WHEREAS, The State has a vested interest in maximizing the number of students who complete credit-bearing certificate programs and two-year or four-year degree programs and enter into high-skill, high-wage occupations; and

WHEREAS, 46% of Illinois high school graduates who enroll in community college are placed into developmental coursework in at least one subject; and

WHEREAS, Inconsistent and inadequate approaches to placement have resulted in too many students being placed into developmental education who could succeed in college-level coursework; and

WHEREAS, The traditional developmental education model costs students time, money, and financial aid; and

WHEREAS, Developmental education does not count as college credit and can be a barrier to retention, persistence, transfer, and certificate or degree completion, particularly for Black, Latino, first generation, and low-income students; and

WHEREAS, There are instructional models of developmental education that have demonstrated improvement in college-level course completion compared to traditional models, including but not limited to corequisite remediation, accelerated coursework, emporium models, and Preparatory Mathematics for General Education (PMGE); and

WHEREAS, Colleges and universities have invested significant time, resources, and money into these different developmental education models; and

WHEREAS, The legislature has made significant investments to improve college preparedness; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Council of Community College Presidents, the Illinois Chief Academic Officers, the Illinois Chief Student Services Officers, and the Illinois Math Association of Community Colleges have already agreed upon a common, multiple measures framework for placement that is currently being implemented; and

WHEREAS, To ensure all models of developmental education are maximizing students' likelihood of success, the State must inventory and evaluate all developmental education instructional models offered in the State; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Community College Board and Illinois Board of Higher Education are well positioned to improve placement practices and fully scale developmental education reforms across all State public institutions; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) and the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) shall establish a joint advisory council to provide a benchmarking report to the General Assembly on or before April 1, 2020, that shall include:

(1) An inventory of all instructional models and developmental course sequences employed by Illinois' public colleges and universities for students placed into developmental education or otherwise determined to need additional skills development in math or English;

(2) An analysis of all instructional models employed by Illinois' public colleges and universities for students placed into developmental education or otherwise determined to need additional skills development in math or English, including, at a minimum, the number and percentage of students completing gateway courses within their first two semesters under each model; and

(3) An inventory and analysis of developmental education placement practices and policies (including cut off scores) employed at all public colleges and universities in the State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That on or before July 1, 2020, the advisory council must deliver to ICCB, IBHE, and the General Assembly, a detailed plan for scaling developmental education reforms, such that institutions improve developmental education placement measures and such that, within a timeframe to be set by the advisory council, all students who are placed in developmental education are enrolled in a developmental education model that is proven to maximize their likelihood of completing a college-level course within their first two academic semesters; and be it further

RESOLVED, That for the purposes of this resolution, "improved placement measures" is defined as measures that give greater opportunities to enroll directly into college-level classes, reducing the overall percent of students placed into developmental education, preferably through decreased reliance on high-stakes tests and increased use of high school GPA as a determining measure; and be it further

RESOLVED, The implementation plan should include specific benchmarks and an estimate of funding required to meet established benchmarks that institutions must meet to stay on track to full-scale implementation on the timeframe set by the advisory council; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the advisory council should include similar representation from two-year and four-year institutions and, at a minimum, include the following:

(1) One member representing ICCB to act as chair of the council;

(2) One member representing IBHE to act as co-chair of the council;

(3) One member from the Illinois Senate to act as co-chair of the council;

(4) One member from the Illinois House of Representatives;

(5) Two public university employees recommended by the IBHE Academic Leadership group;

(6) One public university employee recommended by a statewide organization representing public university employees;

(7) A community college employee recommended by a statewide organization representing the City Colleges of Chicago;

(8) A community college employee recommended by a statewide organization representing a suburban Chicago community college;

(9) A community college employee recommended by a statewide organization representing a downstate community college;

(10) One member representing a higher education advocacy organization focused on closing equity gaps in college completion from low-income and first generation college students, and students of color;

(11) One member representing a statewide advocacy organization focused on improving educational and employment opportunities for women and adults;

(12) One member representing each of the following entities:

(a) Illinois Council of Community College Presidents (ICCCP) appointed by ICCCP;

(b) Illinois public university presidents appointed by IBHE;

(c) Illinois Community College Chief Academic Officers (ICCCAO) appointed by ICCCAO;

(d) Illinois Community College Student Services Officers (ICCCSSO) appointed by ICCCSSO;

(e) Illinois public university student services administrators appointed by IBHE;

(f) Illinois public university provosts appointed by IBHE;

(g) Illinois Community College Trustee Association (ICCTA) appointed by ICCTA;

(h) Illinois public university trustees appointed by IBHE; and

(13) One member to be appointed by the Governor; and be it further

RESOLVED, That, of the appointed community college and university employees, at least one must be an English faculty member participating in the Illinois Articulation Initiative and one must be a member of the Illinois Mathematics Association of Community Colleges (IMACC); and be it further

RESOLVED, That the chairs of the advisory council shall be responsible for scheduling meetings, setting meeting agendas, ensuring the development and delivery of the final report and implementation plan, and other administrative tasks, in consultation with advisory council members; and be it further

RESOLVED, The Council shall produce a final report by January 1, 2021 and upon the filing of this report is dissolved; the report should include, at a minimum, an update on the implementation of corequisite remediation and alternative evidence-based developmental education models at every college and university, and include data on enrollment and throughput, defined as the percent of students initially enrolled who have progressed through gateway-level courses, by institution and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and Pell status; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the ICCB and IBHE.