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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Colleges may place a "hold" on student accounts
3for various reasons, including having an outstanding balance
4from unpaid tuition, room and board, library fees, or parking
5fines; a hold can also occur for nonmonetary reasons, such as
6conduct violations or unreturned equipment; and
 
7    WHEREAS, When students are enrolled, this hold might
8prevent them from registering for the next term and continuing
9their studies; colleges can also withhold the transcripts of
10current or former students wishing to transfer to another
11institution or to apply for an internship or a job if they have
12a hold on their student account; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Credits these students have earned are left
14"stranded" at the institution until they rectify the
15situation, leaving many students in educational limbo; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In a 2020 report, the research group Ithaka S+R
17estimated that approximately 6.6 million current and former
18students, many of them adults who did not complete their
19secondary education, owed as much as $15 billion as of 2018;
20the average unpaid balance was $2,300; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The report cites a 2016 survey from the National

 

 

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1Association of College and University Business Officers
2revealing that 98 percent of colleges admitted to withholding
3transcripts as a debt collection tactic; and
 
4    WHEREAS, In 2021, the American Association of Collegiate
5Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) issued a similar
6report stating that 95 percent of colleges withhold
7transcripts with 64 percent placing a hold for balances of
8less than $25; within their sample group, 42 percent of holds
9preventing access to a transcript were for debts under $1,000;
10and
 
11    WHEREAS, Ithaka's 2021 follow-up report titled "Stranded
12Credits: A Matter of Equity" claims this problem
13disproportionately affects students of color and those from
14low socioeconomic backgrounds; and
 
15    WHEREAS, For students, especially students of color, first
16generation, and/or those from low-income backgrounds, stranded
17credits are the difference between dropping out and earning a
18degree and securing a better future; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Public colleges enrolling more than 40 percent of
20Pell-eligible students are more likely to withhold transcripts
21for an outstanding balance; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, As of the fall of 2021, Eastern Illinois
2University has $50.4 million owed by 8,900 students to the
3University; as of March 8, 2022, Western Illinois University
4had 203 students that had been registered in the fall semester
5that owe the University over $1,000; the University of
6Illinois System places financial holds in October to students
7with a past due balance from fall tuition and fees, which acts
8as a reminder to students of their delinquent balance, and the
9majority of holds are addressed by the spring, with the latest
10delinquent balance hovering at $5.9 million, down from $114.5
11million in the fall; students who have balances greater than
12$1,500 are prohibited from registering for a future term; the
13University System also restricts transcript access to students
14with past due balances of $25 or more; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The problem is most prevalent at community
16colleges, which Ithaka estimates could have as many as three
17million former students with stranded credits; and
 
18    WHEREAS, At the state level, California became the first
19state to ban transcript holds at public and private colleges
20in 2019; Washington state enacted a similar law allowing
21students with balances to access transcripts; in 2020,
22Louisiana passed similar legislation, although Louisiana's law
23pertains only to public colleges; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, A 2021 Massachusetts bill proposed granting
2students access to academic transcripts; in January of 2022,
3Maine introduced a measure to ban transcript holds for
4students at four-year colleges owing $2,500 or less and for
5those at two-year colleges owing less than $500; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that
7the State University of New York ended the practice of
8withholding transcripts; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 2021, the City University of New York (CUNY)
10system banned transcript holds because of pandemic concerns;
11some 74,000 students benefited from this decision and were
12allowed to register with outstanding balances; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Since January of 2021, Northeastern Illinois
14University (NEIU) has provided over $272,000 in debt relief
15funds for students who dropped out in order to assist them in
16re-enrolling at NEIU; the "Come Home to NEIU" stop out
17initiative encouraged students with good academic standing who
18previously attended NEIU to return to the University and
19continue taking classes to complete their degrees; in 2021, 59
20students returned to NEIU; for those students, up to $3,000 of
21their debt was waived and they received a $1,250 scholarship;
22currently, the past due debt amount for NEIU students is
23approximately $27 million; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Governors State University allows students to
2register if they have set up a payment plan and are actively
3making their payments; however, students with holds are
4prevented from obtaining transcripts; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Ithaka is working on a pilot program in Ohio,
6which is to launch in the spring of 2022; under this Ohio
7program, a student with debt can transfer to one of the eight
8participating colleges, and the original institution will
9forgive their debt and release their transcript; in return,
10the college to which the student is transferring will owe a
11small fee to compensate the initial institution for its loss;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 1998, the U.S. Department of Education issued
14a "Dear Colleague" letter encouraging colleges to withhold
15transcripts in cases involving loan defaults and has yet to
16officially reverse its stance on that matter; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The AACRAO report notes that among its study
18participants, 66 percent have a debt-elimination program, and
1929 percent offer debt-forgiveness, such as Wayne State
20University's Warrior Way Back program; two-thirds have used
21funding from the CARES Act to forgive outstanding student debt
22during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The practice of holding transcripts, degrees, and
2the ability to enroll into classes has flourished as a means to
3create revenue; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Increasing enrollment at out public universities
5should include and not ignore students that have a desire to
6enroll; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Students who earn degrees and get jobs are far
8more likely to be in a financial position to settle their debt;
9yet this is made harder by universities placing holds on
10student's account for minor debts; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13we urge Governor JB Pritzker and public and private
14universities in Illinois to explore the idea of allowing
15students who are prohibited from re-enrolling in college
16because of past due debt to the university to finish their
17degrees; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Department of
19Education to rescind its 1998 "Dear Colleague" letter
20encouraging colleges to withhold transcripts in cases
21involving loan defaults; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That we encourage the United States Congress to
2urge the U.S. Department of Education to rescind its "Dear
3Colleague" letter; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
5presented to JB Pritzker, all institutions of higher learning
6in the State of Illinois, the U.S. Department of Education,
7and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.