103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3787

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Michael W. Halpin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 805/3-29.26 new

    Amends the Public Community College Act. Allows the board of trustees of a community college district to establish and offer a baccalaureate degree program and confer a bachelor's degree if the board of trustees and the program meet specified conditions. Provides for an application for approval from the Illinois Community College Board. Sets forth community college requirements and prohibitions for establishing a baccalaureate degree program. Provides that a community college district that offers a baccalaureate degree program shall submit an annual report to the Illinois Community College Board. Sets forth what that report shall include. Provides for a statewide evaluation of a baccalaureate degree program.


LRB103 37518 RJT 67641 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3787LRB103 37518 RJT 67641 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Findings. The General Assembly finds the
5following:
6    (1) Four-year degrees in applied fields of study are of
7increasing importance in enabling individuals to qualify for
8and obtain jobs.
9    (2) It is a priority in this State to promote equitable
10access and afford the citizens in this State, particularly
11underserved student populations and those in rural areas of
12this State, greater access to higher education.
13    (3) Research has shown the following:
14        (A) Most students attend college within 50 miles of
15    their home, and many Illinois residents live outside of
16    commuting distance to a public institution of higher
17    education.
18        (B) In states where the community college
19    baccalaureate has been implemented, typical graduates are
20    older, are working, or have family responsibilities that
21    preclude them from attending traditional baccalaureate
22    programs.
23        (C) Community college baccalaureate graduates are
24    often more racially diverse than counterparts in similar

 

 

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1    programs of study.
2    (4) Community colleges can help fill the gaps in this
3State's higher education system by granting baccalaureate
4degrees to meet the growing demand for a skilled workforce by
5increasing access and reducing costs for students.
6    (5) It is in this State's interest to enable community
7colleges to seek authorization to offer baccalaureate degrees.
8    (6) Baccalaureate degree programs offered pursuant to this
9Act do not otherwise alter the role and mission of a public
10community college. Nothing in this Act is intended to reduce
11the State's commitment to improving associate to baccalaureate
12program transfer pathways for Illinois students.
 
13    Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended by
14adding Section 3-29.26 as follows:
 
15    (110 ILCS 805/3-29.26 new)
16    Sec. 3-29.26. Baccalaureate degree program.
17    (a) A board of trustees may establish and offer a
18baccalaureate degree program and confer a bachelor's degree if
19all the following conditions are met:
20        (1) The board of trustees meets all of the
21    requirements as set forth in subsection (b) of this
22    Section and has been approved by the State Board to offer a
23    bachelor's degree.
24        (2) After the program has been approved by the State

 

 

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1    Board, the Board of Higher Education shall consider the
2    program for approval in a manner consistent with new
3    bachelor's degree programs at public and private
4    universities in this State.
5        (3) The board of trustees has identified and
6    documented, in writing, unmet workforce needs in the
7    region served by the community college in the subject area
8    of the baccalaureate degree program to be offered. The
9    board of trustees shall publish the documentation on the
10    community college district's website, make the
11    documentation publicly available, and shall present the
12    documentation to the State Board.
13        (4) The community college shall hold an applicable
14    accreditation for the baccalaureate degree program or have
15    applied for the accreditation.
16        (5) The board of trustees must demonstrate, in the
17    board of trustee's equity plans, how the baccalaureate
18    degree program will demonstrate improved racial and
19    socioeconomic equity in student access, enrollment, and
20    completion by focusing outreach efforts on and giving
21    preference to those students to meet workforce needs.
22        (6) Tuition per credit hour for the third and fourth
23    years of a 4-year baccalaureate program may not exceed
24    150% of the tuition per credit hour of related
25    lower-division course tuition.
26    (b) The board of trustees shall demonstrate the district

 

 

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1has the expertise, resources, and student interest to offer a
2baccalaureate degree. An application for approval from the
3State Board shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
4following:
5        (1) The board of trustees shall describe the labor
6    market need as specified in paragraph (3) of subsection
7    (a).
8        (2) The board of trustees must demonstrate that the
9    baccalaureate degree program will not unnecessarily
10    duplicate the degree programs offered by other
11    institutions of higher education in the community
12    college's district.
13        (3) The board of trustees shall describe the program's
14    purpose and its target population, related occupations,
15    and career paths.
16        (4) The board of trustees may demonstrate that the
17    baccalaureate degree program is built on existing
18    associate degree programs and that the baccalaureate
19    degree program prepares graduates for professional and
20    technical employment and opportunity to matriculate to
21    graduate degree programs, when applicable.
22        (5) The board of trustees shall demonstrate that the
23    community college has developed quality curricula that
24    align with federal, State, and local requirements and will
25    prepare students with the appropriate level of skill to
26    meet students' educational goals.

 

 

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1        (6) The board of trustees shall demonstrate student
2    demand for the baccalaureate program.
3        (7) The board of trustees shall verify the community
4    college has the fiscal resources in place or has budgeted
5    for financial support for the program in a cost-effective
6    manner.
7        (8) The board of trustees shall identify and document
8    the faculty available for teaching the program, including
9    the number of full-time faculty anticipated to teach in
10    the program, a description of the faculty's
11    qualifications, including the highest degree earned,
12    teaching experience, professional experience, and licenses
13    held by the faculty. The board of trustees must also
14    indicate how faculty are to be evaluated.
15    (c) A community college district is prohibited from using
16semester credit hours generated in a baccalaureate degree
17program for grants received pursuant to Section 2-16.02 of
18this Act.
19    (d) The board of trustees of a community college
20developing a baccalaureate degree program located in the same
21community college district as the main campus of any public
22institution of higher education shall notify that public
23institution of higher education at least 60 days before
24submitting the application under subsection (b) to the State
25Board. Within 30 days after the date the board of trustees
26submits the notice, the public institution of higher education

 

 

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1may provide a written response to the State Board for its
2review. A public institution of higher education may not
3prevent a community college from offering a baccalaureate
4degree program.
5    (e) A community college district that offers a
6baccalaureate degree program shall submit an annual report to
7the State Board, which shall include all of the following:
8        (1) The total number of students pursuing a bachelor's
9    degree at the community college district pursuant to this
10    Section.
11        (2) The total number of bachelor's degrees completed
12    at the community college district.
13        (3) Workforce data showing demand for the
14    baccalaureate degree programs offered at the community
15    college district.
16        (4) The average cost of tuition per credit hour for
17    the bachelor's degrees offered at the community college
18    district.
19    (f) The State Board shall conduct a statewide evaluation
20of all baccalaureate degree programs established under this
21Section. The results of the evaluation shall be reported, in
22writing, on or before 5 years after the effective date of this
23amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly to all of the
24following:
25        (1) The Board of Higher Education.
26        (2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

 

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1        (3) The Minority Leader of the House of
2    Representatives.
3        (4) The President of the Senate.
4        (5) The Minority Leader of the Senate.
5        (6) The Governor's Office of Management and Budget.
6    The evaluation shall include, but is not limited to, all
7of the following:
8        (A) All baccalaureate degree programs implemented.
9        (B) Information identifying applicants, admissions,
10    enrollments, demographic characteristics of students, and
11    degree recipients.
12        (C) The extent to which each baccalaureate degree
13    program established under this Section fulfills identified
14    workforce demands that require 4-year baccalaureate
15    degrees.
16        (D) Information on the pace of employment of students
17    and the subsequent job placement of graduates.
18        (E) The cost of each baccalaureate degree program and
19    the funding sources used to finance each program.
20        (F) For each baccalaureate degree program, the costs
21    to students, the amount of financial aid offered, and the
22    student debt levels of graduates.
23        (G) Time-to-degree rates and completion rates for each
24    new baccalaureate degree program established under this
25    Section.
26        (H) The extent to which a baccalaureate degree program

 

 

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1    established under this Section is in compliance with the
2    requirements of this Section.
3    A board of trustees shall submit the information necessary
4to conduct the evaluation required under this subsection (f),
5as determined by the evaluators, to the State Board.