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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Postsecondary education is essential in the | ||||||
3 | modern economy; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The demographics of Illinois' population are | ||||||
5 | changing dramatically and rapidly; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The demands of employers in every sector of the | ||||||
7 | economy require ever-higher levels of educational attainment; | ||||||
8 | and
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9 | WHEREAS, The National Conference of State Legislatures | ||||||
10 | issued a Blue Ribbon Commission report, "Transforming Higher | ||||||
11 | Education - National Imperative, State Responsibility", in | ||||||
12 | October 2006, calling for the development of a state higher | ||||||
13 | education agenda; and
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14 | WHEREAS, The Board of Higher Education has the statutory | ||||||
15 | responsibility for higher education master planning; | ||||||
16 | therefore, be it
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17 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | ||||||
18 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
19 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Board of Higher Education undertake | ||||||
20 | a master plan for Illinois higher education through the |
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1 | creation of a Task Force on Higher Education and the Economy to | ||||||
2 | study the challenges and opportunities facing higher | ||||||
3 | education, the State's workforce needs, demographic trends, | ||||||
4 | and higher education funding and student financial aid; and be | ||||||
5 | it further
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6 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be chaired by the | ||||||
7 | Chairperson of the Board of Higher Education and be comprised | ||||||
8 | of 4 members of the General Assembly, one appointed by the | ||||||
9 | Speaker of the House, one appointed by the Minority Leader of | ||||||
10 | the House, one appointed by the President of the Senate, and | ||||||
11 | one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; and 12 | ||||||
12 | members appointed by the Governor from nominees recommended by | ||||||
13 | the Board of Higher Education as follows: | ||||||
14 | (1) a trustee or senior administrator of a public | ||||||
15 | university; | ||||||
16 | (2) a trustee or senior administrator of a community | ||||||
17 | college; | ||||||
18 | (3) a trustee or senior administrator of an independent | ||||||
19 | college or university; | ||||||
20 | (4) 2 business leaders from statewide business | ||||||
21 | associations or the Illinois Workforce Investment Board; | ||||||
22 | (5) a leader of the healthcare industry; | ||||||
23 | (6) a local school superintendent; | ||||||
24 | (7) a labor leader representing a statewide labor | ||||||
25 | organization; |
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1 | (8) 2 faculty members, one from a community college and | ||||||
2 | one from a public university; | ||||||
3 | (9) one student; and | ||||||
4 | (10) one representative of the proprietary education | ||||||
5 | sector; and be it further
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6 | RESOLVED, That the master plan shall do the following: | ||||||
7 | (1) define the public needs for higher education, | ||||||
8 | through collection and analysis of data about the State's | ||||||
9 | (i) social conditions, including age, race and ethnicity, | ||||||
10 | family structure, family income, regional differences, | ||||||
11 | educational attainment, population migration, and health | ||||||
12 | characteristics; (ii) economic conditions, including | ||||||
13 | industry mix, importing and exporting, economic strengths, | ||||||
14 | effects of globalization, State gross domestic product, | ||||||
15 | tax collections, new business starts, regional | ||||||
16 | differences, personal income, and healthcare quality and | ||||||
17 | availability; and (iii) educational conditions, including | ||||||
18 | governance and coordination, finance, achievement gaps, | ||||||
19 | student pipeline issues, healthcare and professional | ||||||
20 | education, institutional focus, and regional differences; | ||||||
21 | (2) review existing policies to determine how the | ||||||
22 | Illinois higher education system operates and meets the | ||||||
23 | public needs of this State in such areas as (i) preparation | ||||||
24 | for the workplace and college, including kindergarten | ||||||
25 | through grade 12 student development, teacher and school |
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1 | leader preparation, dual enrollment, curriculum alignment | ||||||
2 | between kindergarten through grade 12 schools and higher | ||||||
3 | education, use of placement examinations, high school | ||||||
4 | graduation standards, and college entrance requirements, | ||||||
5 | the need for remedial coursework in colleges and | ||||||
6 | universities, adult education and adult literacy, | ||||||
7 | mechanisms for feedback on student and graduate | ||||||
8 | performance, data systems, efficiency and productivity, | ||||||
9 | marketing, and financial implications; (ii) postsecondary | ||||||
10 | participation, including institutional and sector | ||||||
11 | capacity, underrepresented groups, distance education, | ||||||
12 | off-campus degree completion opportunities, dual | ||||||
13 | enrollment, counseling, advising, and other student | ||||||
14 | services, adult education, healthcare, graduate and | ||||||
15 | professional training, certificate and workforce training, | ||||||
16 | data systems, efficiency, and productivity, marketing, and | ||||||
17 | financial implications; (iii) affordability, including | ||||||
18 | adequacy of campus funding, tuition and fee policies, | ||||||
19 | financial aid programs and policies (including need-based | ||||||
20 | aid, merit-based aid, institutional aid, waiver programs, | ||||||
21 | savings programs, loan programs, healthcare, and graduate | ||||||
22 | professional training), the relationship between public | ||||||
23 | funding, tuition and fees, and financial aid, data systems, | ||||||
24 | and efficiency and productivity, (iv) degree completion, | ||||||
25 | including counseling, advising, childcare, and other | ||||||
26 | student services, underrepresented groups, off-campus |
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1 | degree completion, transfer agreements, the Illinois | ||||||
2 | Articulation Initiative, the Course Applicability System, | ||||||
3 | stop-out and dropout intervention, student goals less than | ||||||
4 | a degree, and data systems, efficiency, and productivity, | ||||||
5 | (v) research and economic development, focusing on | ||||||
6 | critical workforce needs, workforce development, adult | ||||||
7 | education and retraining, research and development, | ||||||
8 | applied research activities, technology transfer, | ||||||
9 | retention of graduates, health care provision and | ||||||
10 | training, regional cultural resources, data systems, | ||||||
11 | efficiency, and productivity, and financial implications; | ||||||
12 | and (vi) learning, including student assessment, use of | ||||||
13 | placement exams, achievement gaps, remediation, and | ||||||
14 | student performance feedback systems; and | ||||||
15 | (3) provide recommendations for statewide goals for | ||||||
16 | higher education, sector and institutional roles and | ||||||
17 | responsibilities, accountability measures, coordination | ||||||
18 | strategies, and a schedule for implementation; and be it | ||||||
19 | further | ||||||
20 | RESOLVED, That the Board of Higher Education may draw on | ||||||
21 | the expertise and research of national educational consultants | ||||||
22 | and State institutional policy centers; and be it further | ||||||
23 | RESOLVED, That the House and Senate higher education and | ||||||
24 | higher education appropriation committees may hold hearings to |
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1 | explore such issues as college preparation, degree persistence | ||||||
2 | and completion, affordability, the needs of nontraditional | ||||||
3 | students, the effect of demographic trends on enrollments, | ||||||
4 | student services, and degree completion, finance and student | ||||||
5 | aid, deferred maintenance and capital needs, and other topics | ||||||
6 | as determined by these committees; and be it further | ||||||
7 | RESOLVED, That the Board of Higher Education shall present | ||||||
8 | a preliminary report to the Task Force on its findings and | ||||||
9 | conclusions based on the collection and review of data, its | ||||||
10 | audit of existing policies, and public hearings; and be it | ||||||
11 | further | ||||||
12 | RESOLVED, That the Board of Higher Education shall provide | ||||||
13 | quarterly progress reports to the Governor, legislative | ||||||
14 | leaders, the House and Senate Higher Education Committees, the | ||||||
15 | House Appropriations - Higher Education Committee, and the | ||||||
16 | Senate Appropriations III Committee, with the first report to | ||||||
17 | be completed within 3 months after the appointment of the Task | ||||||
18 | Force; and be it further | ||||||
19 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall establish a public | ||||||
20 | comment period and mechanisms, including public hearings and a | ||||||
21 | web-based outlet for written testimony, to gather evidence and | ||||||
22 | viewpoints of the public, institutional administrators, | ||||||
23 | students and families, faculty, employers, local civic and |
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1 | educational leaders, and other interested parties and | ||||||
2 | stakeholders regarding the preliminary report; and be it | ||||||
3 | further | ||||||
4 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall create a master plan | ||||||
5 | and public agenda for higher education that shall consider, but | ||||||
6 | not be limited to, all of the following: | ||||||
7 | (1) demographics of the State's population; | ||||||
8 | (2) the State's economic and educational conditions; | ||||||
9 | (3) educational attainment levels and needs of the | ||||||
10 | State's residents; | ||||||
11 | (4) integration of prekindergarten through grade 12 | ||||||
12 | schools and postsecondary education in goals, outcomes, | ||||||
13 | and data collection; | ||||||
14 | (5) student pipeline issues, including college | ||||||
15 | readiness, articulation to college, and postsecondary | ||||||
16 | retention, transfer, and graduation rates; | ||||||
17 | (6) adult learners; | ||||||
18 | (7) workforce readiness; | ||||||
19 | (8) college affordability and trends in higher | ||||||
20 | education financing, financial aid, and student debt and | ||||||
21 | alternatives to maximize efficient use of resources; | ||||||
22 | (9) capital needs and deferred maintenance at public | ||||||
23 | colleges and universities; | ||||||
24 | (10) future academic and financial pressures for | ||||||
25 | public higher education, including retention of faculty |
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1 | and staff; | ||||||
2 | (11) innovation in approaches to teaching and | ||||||
3 | learning; | ||||||
4 | (12) the role of higher education in the global | ||||||
5 | competitiveness of the State; | ||||||
6 | (13) the value of academic research; | ||||||
7 | (14) partnerships involving prekindergarten through | ||||||
8 | grade 12 schools, higher education, and business; and | ||||||
9 | (15) productivity and accountability; and be it | ||||||
10 | further | ||||||
11 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report to the General | ||||||
12 | Assembly and the Governor on or before August 15, 2008 with a | ||||||
13 | master plan and public agenda for Illinois higher education | ||||||
14 | that includes each of the following: | ||||||
15 | (1) goals for academic preparation, participation | ||||||
16 | in postsecondary education, affordability, degree | ||||||
17 | completion, research and economic development, and | ||||||
18 | learning; | ||||||
19 | (2) responsibilities for educational sectors and | ||||||
20 | financial implications; | ||||||
21 | (3) accountability measures; | ||||||
22 | (4) coordination; and | ||||||
23 | (5) timelines and responsibilities; and be it | ||||||
24 | further |
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1 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | delivered to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of | ||||||
3 | Higher Education, the Chairperson of the Illinois Community | ||||||
4 | College Board, the Chairperson of the State Board of Education, | ||||||
5 | the Chairperson of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, | ||||||
6 | and the President of each public college and university in this | ||||||
7 | State.
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