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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Postsecondary education is essential in the
3 modern economy; and
 
4     WHEREAS, The demographics of Illinois' population are
5 changing dramatically and rapidly; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The demands of employers in every sector of the
7 economy require ever-higher levels of educational attainment;
8 and
 
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
 
14     WHEREAS, The Board of Higher Education has the statutory
15 responsibility for higher education master planning;
16 therefore, be it
 
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
 
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
 
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.