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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. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Community college" means a public community college in
8this State.
9    "State university" means a public university in this State.
 
10    Section 10. Associate degree for transfer.
11    (a) Commencing with the fall term of the 2016-2017 academic
12year, a community college student who earns an associate degree
13for transfer, an Associate of Arts, or an Associate of Science
14that is consistent with degree requirements of the Illinois
15Community College Board and the Board of Higher Education and
16aligned with the policies and procedures of the Illinois
17Articulation Initiative, granted pursuant to subsection (b) of
18this Section is deemed eligible for transfer into the
19baccalaureate program of a State university if the student
20meets the requirements of the transfer degree and
21major-specific prerequisites and obtains a minimum grade point
22average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.

 

 

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1    (b) As a condition of receipt of State funds, a community
2college district shall develop and grant associate degrees for
3transfer that meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this
4Section. A community college district may not impose any
5requirements in addition to the requirements of this Section
6for a student to be eligible for an associate degree for
7transfer and subsequent admission to a State university
8pursuant to Section 15 of this Act without the approval of the
9Illinois Community College Board and the Board of Higher
10Education.
11    (c) The General Assembly encourages a community college
12district to consider the articulation agreements and other work
13between the respective faculties from the affected community
14college and State universities in implementing the
15requirements of this Section.
16    (d) The General Assembly encourages community colleges to
17facilitate the acceptance of credits earned at other community
18colleges toward an associate degree for transfer pursuant to
19this Section.
20    (e) This Section does not preclude students who are
21assessed below collegiate level from acquiring remedial
22noncollegiate level coursework in preparation for obtaining an
23associate degree for transfer. Remedial noncollegiate level
24coursework and all other non-transfer coursework must not be
25counted as part of the transferable units required pursuant to
26subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this Section.
 

 

 

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1    Section 15. Admission to a State university.
2Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a
3State university shall admit and grant junior status in a
4program, subject to available program capacity, to any Illinois
5community college student who:
6        (1) meets all of the requirements of Section 10 of this
7    Act;
8        (2) has completed all lower-division prerequisites;
9    and
10        (3) meets the admission requirements of the State
11    university's program or major.
 
12    Section 20. Coursework.
13    (a) A State university may not require a student
14transferring pursuant to this Act to take more than 60
15additional semester units beyond the lower-division major
16requirements for majors requiring 120 semester units, provided
17that the student remains enrolled in the same program of study
18and has completed university major transfer requirements.
19Specified high unit majors are exempt from this subsection (a)
20upon agreement by the board of trustees of the State university
21and the Board of Higher Education.
22    (b) A State university may not require students
23transferring pursuant to this Act to repeat courses that are
24articulated with those taken at the community college and

 

 

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1counted toward an associate degree for transfer granted
2pursuant to Section 10 of this Act.
3    (c) The General Assembly encourages State universities to
4facilitate the seamless transfer of credits toward a
5baccalaureate degree pursuant to the intent of this Act.
 
6    Section 25. Board of Higher Education reviews and reports.
7    (a) The Board of Higher Education shall review the
8implementation of this Act and file a report on that review
9with the General Assembly on or before May 31, 2017, as
10provided in Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
11Act.
12    (b) The Board of Higher Education shall review both of the
13following and file a report on that review with the General
14Assembly within 4 years after the effective date of this Act,
15as provided in Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
16Act:
17        (1) The outcomes of implementation of this Act,
18    including, but not limited to, all of the following:
19            (A) The number and percentage of community college
20        students who transferred to a State university and
21        earned an associate degree for transfer pursuant to
22        this Act.
23            (B) The average amount of time and units it takes a
24        community college student earning an associate degree
25        for transfer pursuant to this Act to transfer to and

 

 

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1        graduate from a State university, as compared to the
2        average amount of time and units it took community
3        college transfer students prior to the implementation
4        of this Act and compared to students using other
5        transfer processes available.
6            (C) Student progression and completion rates.
7            (D) Other relevant indicators of student success.
8            (E) The degree to which the requirements for an
9        associate degree for transfer take into account
10        existing articulation agreements and the degree to
11        which community colleges facilitate the acceptance of
12        credits between community college districts, as
13        outlined in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 10 of
14        this Act.
15            (F) It is the intent of the General Assembly that
16        student outcome data provided under this subsection
17        (b) include the degree to which State universities were
18        able to accommodate students admitted under this Act in
19        being admitted to the State university of their choice
20        and in a major that is similar to their community
21        college major.
22        (2) Recommendations for statutory changes necessary to
23    facilitate the goal of a clear and transparent transfer
24    process.
 
25    Section 30. Implementation of Act; intent. It is the intent

 

 

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1of the General Assembly that the requirements placed on
2community college districts pursuant to this Act be carried out
3in the normal course of program development and approval,
4course scheduling, and degree issuance and do not represent any
5new activities or a higher level of service on the part of
6community college districts.
 
7    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
8Section 8.39 as follows:
 
9    (30 ILCS 805/8.39 new)
10    Sec. 8.39. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
11of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
12implementation of any mandate created by the Student Transfer
13Achievement Reform Act.