Higher Education Committee
Filed: 3/14/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 658
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 658 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 25 as follows:
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6 | (110 ILCS 947/25)
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7 | Sec. 25. State scholar program.
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8 | (a) An applicant is eligible to be designated a State | ||||||
9 | Scholar when the
Commission finds the candidate:
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10 | (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or | ||||||
11 | permanent resident of the
United States;
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12 | (2) has successfully completed the program of | ||||||
13 | instruction at an
approved high school, or is a student in | ||||||
14 | good standing at such a school and
is engaged in a program | ||||||
15 | which in due course will be completed by the end of
the | ||||||
16 | academic year, and in either event that the candidate's |
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1 | academic
standing is above the class median; and that the | ||||||
2 | candidate has not had any
university, college, normal | ||||||
3 | school, private junior college or public community
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4 | college, or other advanced training subsequent to | ||||||
5 | graduation from high school;
and
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6 | (3) has superior capacity to profit by a higher | ||||||
7 | education.
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8 | (b) In determining an applicant's superior capacity to | ||||||
9 | profit by a
higher education, the Commission shall consider the | ||||||
10 | candidate's
scholastic record in high school and the results of | ||||||
11 | the examination conducted
under the provisions of this Act. The | ||||||
12 | Commission shall establish by rule the
minimum conditions of | ||||||
13 | eligibility in terms of the foregoing factors, and the
relative | ||||||
14 | weight to be accorded to those factors.
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15 | (c) The Commission shall base its State Scholar | ||||||
16 | designations upon the
eligibility formula prescribed in its | ||||||
17 | rules, except that notwithstanding
those rules or any other | ||||||
18 | provision of this Section, a student nominated by
his or her | ||||||
19 | school shall be designated a State Scholar if that student
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20 | achieves an Illinois Standard Test Score at or above the 95th | ||||||
21 | percentile
among students taking the designated examinations | ||||||
22 | in Illinois that year, as
determined by the Commission.
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23 | (d) The Commission shall obtain the results of a | ||||||
24 | competitive examination
from the applicants this Act . The | ||||||
25 | examination shall provide a measure of each
candidate's ability | ||||||
26 | to perform college work and shall have demonstrated utility
in |
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1 | such a selection program. The Commission shall select, and | ||||||
2 | designate by
rule, the specific examinations to be used in | ||||||
3 | determining the applicant's
superior capacity to profit from a | ||||||
4 | higher education. Candidates may be asked by
the Commission to | ||||||
5 | take those steps necessary to provide results of the
designated | ||||||
6 | examination as part of their applications. Any nominal cost of
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7 | obtaining or providing the examination results shall be paid by | ||||||
8 | the candidate
to the agency designated by the Commission to | ||||||
9 | provide the examination service.
In the event that a candidate | ||||||
10 | or candidates are unable to participate in the
examination for | ||||||
11 | financial reasons, the Commission may choose to pay the
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12 | examination fee on the candidate's or candidates' behalf. Any | ||||||
13 | notary fee which
may also be required as part of the total | ||||||
14 | application shall be paid by the
applicant.
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15 | (e) The Commission shall award to each State Scholar a | ||||||
16 | certificate or other
suitable form of recognition. The decision | ||||||
17 | to attend a non-qualified
institution of higher learning shall | ||||||
18 | not disqualify applicants who are
otherwise fully qualified.
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19 | (f) The Commission shall conduct a study detailing all of | ||||||
20 | the following information: | ||||||
21 | (1) The number of students designated State Scholars in | ||||||
22 | 2007 and 2008. | ||||||
23 | (2) The number of State Scholars who applied to State | ||||||
24 | universities in 2007 and 2008. | ||||||
25 | (3) The number of State Scholars who were denied | ||||||
26 | admittance into the State universities to which they |
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1 | applied in 2007 and 2008. | ||||||
2 | All data collected from a State university in regards to | ||||||
3 | the study conducted under this subsection (f) must be verified | ||||||
4 | by that university. | ||||||
5 | On or before January 1, 2009, the Commission must submit a | ||||||
6 | report to the General Assembly that contains the findings of | ||||||
7 | the study conducted under this subsection (f) and the | ||||||
8 | Commission's recommendations on how to make State universities | ||||||
9 | more accessible to State Scholars.
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10 | |||||||
11 | (Source: P.A. 87-997.)
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12 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
13 | becoming law.".
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