Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB2927
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Full Text of SB2927  100th General Assembly

SB2927ham003 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Kelly M. Burke

Filed: 5/28/2018

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2927

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2927, AS AMENDED,
3by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 1. Legislative intent. It is the intent of this
6Act to increase enrollment at public 4-year universities in
7this State by providing those universities with the option for
8additional funding through a new, merit-based and means-tested
9matching scholarship for Illinois students. It is also the
10intent of this Act that any public university participating in
11this program should, in its best efforts, attempt to delegate
12scholarship funds amongst a racially diverse range of students
13and not use a student's race, color, religion, sex (including
14gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy), national
15origin, age, disability, or genetic information to disqualify
16him or her from receiving funds under the program.
 

 

 

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1    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
2amended by changing Section 10 and adding Section 65.100 as
3follows:
 
4    (110 ILCS 947/10)
5    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, and except to the extent
6that any of the following words or phrases is specifically
7qualified by its context:
8    "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
9Commission created by this Act.
10    "Enrollment" means the establishment and maintenance of an
11individual's status as a student in an institution of higher
12learning, regardless of the terms used at the institution to
13describe that status.
14    "Approved high school" means any public high school located
15in this State; and any high school, located in this State or
16elsewhere (whether designated as a high school, secondary
17school, academy, preparatory school, or otherwise) which in the
18judgment of the State Superintendent of Education provides a
19course of instruction at the secondary level and maintains
20standards of instruction substantially equivalent to those of
21the public high schools located in this State.
22    "Institution of higher learning", "qualified institution",
23or "institution" means an educational organization located in
24this State which
25        (1) provides at least an organized 2 year program of

 

 

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1    collegiate grade in the liberal arts or sciences, or both,
2    directly applicable toward the attainment of a
3    baccalaureate degree or a program in health education
4    directly applicable toward the attainment of a
5    certificate, diploma, or an associate degree;
6        (2) either is
7            (A) operated by this State, or
8            (B) operated publicly or privately, not for
9        profit, or
10            (C) operated for profit, provided such for profit
11        organization
12                (i) offers degree programs which have been
13            approved by the Board of Higher Education for a
14            minimum of 3 years under the Academic Degree Act,
15            and
16                (ii) enrolls a majority of its students in such
17            degree programs, and
18                (iii) maintains an accredited status with the
19            Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of
20            the North Central Association of Colleges and
21            Schools;
22        (3) in the judgment of the Commission meets standards
23    substantially equivalent to those of comparable
24    institutions operated by this State; and
25        (4) if so required by the Commission, uses the State as
26    its primary guarantor of student loans made under the

 

 

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1    federal Higher Education Act of 1965.
2For otherwise eligible educational organizations which provide
3academic programs for incarcerated students, the terms
4"institution of higher learning", "qualified institutions",
5and "institution" shall specifically exclude academic programs
6for incarcerated students.
7    "Academic Year" means a 12 month period of time, normally
8but not exclusively, from September 1 of any year through
9August 31 of the ensuing year.
10    "Full-time student" means any undergraduate student
11enrolled in 12 or more semester or quarter hours of credit
12courses in any given semester or quarter or in the equivalent
13number of units of registration as determined by the
14Commission.
15    "Part-time student" means any undergraduate student, other
16than a full-time student, enrolled in 6 or more semester or
17quarter hours of credit courses in any given semester or
18quarter or in the equivalent number of units of registration as
19determined by the Commission. Beginning with fiscal year 1999,
20the Commission may, on a program by program basis, expand this
21definition of "part-time student" to include students who
22enroll in less than 6 semester or quarter hours of credit
23courses in any given semester or quarter.
24    "Public university" means any public 4-year university in
25this State.
26    "Public university campus" means any campus under the

 

 

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1governance or supervision of a public university.
2(Source: P.A. 90-122, eff. 7-17-97; 91-250, eff. 7-22-99.)
 
3    (110 ILCS 947/65.100 new)
4    Sec. 65.100. AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program.
5    (a) The General Assembly makes all of the following
6findings:
7        (1) Both access and affordability are important
8    aspects of the Illinois Public Agenda for College and
9    Career Success report.
10        (2) This State is in the top quartile with respect to
11    the percentage of family income needed to pay for college.
12        (3) Research suggests that as loan amounts increase,
13    rather than an increase in grant amounts, the probability
14    of college attendance decreases.
15        (4) There is further research indicating that
16    socioeconomic status may affect the willingness of
17    students to use loans to attend college.
18        (5) Strategic use of tuition discounting can decrease
19    the amount of loans that students must use to pay for
20    tuition.
21        (6) A modest, individually tailored tuition discount
22    can make the difference in a student choosing to attend
23    college and enhance college access for low-income and
24    middle-income families.
25        (7) Even if the federally calculated financial need for

 

 

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1    college attendance is met, the federally determined
2    Expected Family Contribution can still be a daunting
3    amount.
4        (8) This State is the second largest exporter of
5    students in the country.
6        (9) When talented Illinois students attend
7    universities in this State, the State and those
8    universities benefit.
9        (10) State universities in other states have adopted
10    pricing and incentives that allow many Illinois residents
11    to pay less to attend an out-of-state university than to
12    remain in this State for college.
13        (11) Supporting Illinois student attendance at
14    Illinois public universities can assist in State efforts to
15    maintain and educate a highly trained workforce.
16        (12) Modest tuition discounts that are individually
17    targeted and tailored can result in enhanced revenue for
18    public universities.
19        (13) By increasing a public university's capacity to
20    strategically use tuition discounting, the public
21    university will be capable of creating enhanced tuition
22    revenue by increasing enrollment yields.
23    (b) In this Section:
24    "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school
25in this State, whether or not recognized by the State Board of
26Education, who is engaged in a program of study that in due

 

 

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1course will be completed by the end of the school year and who
2meets all of the qualifications and requirements under this
3Section.
4    "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the customary
5charge for instruction and use of facilities in general and the
6additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that are
7required generally of non-grant recipients for each academic
8period for which the grant applicant actually enrolls, but does
9not include fees payable only once or breakage fees and other
10contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part.
11The Commission may adopt, by rule not inconsistent with this
12Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
13tuition and other necessary fees.
14    (c) Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, each public
15university may establish a merit-based scholarship pilot
16program known as the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program. Each year,
17the Commission shall receive and consider applications from
18public universities under this Section. Subject to
19appropriation and any tuition waiver limitation established by
20the Board of Higher Education, a public university campus may
21award a grant to a student under this Section if it finds that
22the applicant meets all of the following criteria:
23        (1) He or she is a resident of this State and a citizen
24    or eligible noncitizen of the United States.
25        (2) He or she files a Free Application for Federal
26    Student Aid and demonstrates financial need with a

 

 

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1    household income no greater than 6 times the poverty
2    guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by
3    the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the
4    authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).
5        (3) He or she meets the minimum cumulative grade point
6    average or ACT or SAT college admissions test score, as
7    determined by the public university campus.
8        (4) He or she is enrolled in a public university as an
9    undergraduate student on a full-time basis.
10        (5) He or she has not yet received a baccalaureate
11    degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours.
12        (6) He or she is not incarcerated.
13        (7) He or she is not in default on any student loan or
14    does not owe a refund or repayment on any State or federal
15    grant or scholarship.
16        (8) Any other reasonable criteria, as determined by the
17    public university campus.
18    (d) Each public university campus shall determine grant
19renewal criteria consistent with the requirements under this
20Section.
21    (e) Each participating public university campus shall post
22on its Internet website criteria and eligibility requirements
23for receiving awards that use funds under this Section that
24includes a range in the sizes of these individual awards. The
25criteria and amounts must also be reported to the Commission
26and the Board of Higher Education, who shall post the

 

 

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1information on their respective Internet websites.
2    (f) After enactment of an appropriation for this Program,
3the Commission shall determine an allocation of funds to each
4public university in an amount proportionate to the number of
5undergraduate students who are residents of this State and
6citizens or eligible noncitizens of the United States and who
7were enrolled at each public university campus in the previous
8academic year. All applications must be made to the Commission
9on or before a date determined by the Commission and on forms
10that the Commission shall provide to each public university
11campus. The form of the application and the information
12required shall be determined by the Commission and shall
13include, without limitation, the total public university
14campus funds used to match funds received from the Commission
15in the previous academic year under this Section, if any, the
16total enrollment of undergraduate students who are residents of
17this State from the previous academic year, and any supporting
18documents as the Commission deems necessary. Each public
19university campus shall match the amount of funds received by
20the Commission with financial aid for eligible students.
21    A public university campus is not required to claim its
22entire allocation. The Commission shall make available to all
23public universities, on a date determined by the Commission,
24any unclaimed funds and the funds must be made available to
25those public university campuses in the proportion determined
26under this subsection (f), excluding from the calculation those

 

 

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1public university campuses not claiming their full
2allocations.
3    Each public university campus may determine the award
4amounts for eligible students on an individual or broad basis,
5but, subject to renewal eligibility, each renewed award may not
6be less than the amount awarded to the eligible student in his
7or her first year attending the public university campus.
8Notwithstanding this limitation, a renewal grant may be reduced
9due to changes in the student's cost of attendance, including,
10but not limited to, if a student reduces the number of credit
11hours in which he or she is enrolled, but remains a full-time
12student, or switches to a course of study with a lower tuition
13rate.
14    An eligible applicant awarded grant assistance under this
15Section is eligible to receive other financial aid. Total grant
16aid to the student from all sources may not exceed the total
17cost of attendance at the public university campus.
18    (g) All money allocated to a public university campus under
19this Section may be used only for financial aid purposes for
20students attending the public university campus during the
21academic year, not including summer terms. Any funds received
22by a public university campus under this Section that are not
23granted to students in the academic year for which the funds
24are received must be refunded to the Commission before any new
25funds are received by the public university campus for the next
26academic year.

 

 

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1    (h) Each public university campus that establishes a
2Program under this Section must annually report to the
3Commission, on or before a date determined by the Commission,
4the number of undergraduate students enrolled at that campus
5who are residents of this State.
6    (i) Each public university campus must report to the
7Commission the total non-loan financial aid amount given by the
8public university campus to undergraduate students in fiscal
9year 2018. To be eligible to receive funds under the Program, a
10public university campus may not decrease the total amount of
11non-loan financial aid for undergraduate students to an amount
12lower than the total non-loan financial aid amount given by the
13public university campus to undergraduate students in fiscal
14year 2018, not including any funds received from the Commission
15under this Section or any funds used to match grant awards
16under this Section.
17    (j) On or before a date determined by the Commission, each
18public university campus that participates in the Program under
19this Section shall annually submit a report to the Commission
20with all of the following information:
21        (1) The Program's impact on tuition revenue and
22    enrollment goals and increase in access and affordability
23    at the public university campus.
24        (2) Total funds received by the public university
25    campus under the Program.
26        (3) Total non-loan financial aid awarded to

 

 

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1    undergraduate students attending the public university
2    campus.
3        (4) Total amount of funds matched by the public
4    university campus.
5        (5) Total amount of funds refunded to the Commission by
6    the public university campus.
7        (6) The percentage of total financial aid distributed
8    under the Program by the public university campus.
9        (7) The total number of students receiving grants from
10    the public university campus under the Program and those
11    students' grade level, race, gender, income level, family
12    size, Monetary Award Program eligibility, Pell Grant
13    eligibility, and zip code of residence and the amount of
14    each grant award. This information shall include unit
15    record data on those students regarding variables
16    associated with the parameters of the public university's
17    Program, including, but not limited to, a student's ACT or
18    SAT college admissions test score, high school or
19    university cumulative grade point average, or program of
20    study.
21    On or before October 1, 2020 and annually on or before
22October 1 thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report with
23the findings under this subsection (j) and any other
24information regarding the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program to (i)
25the Governor, (ii) the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
26(iii) the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, (iv)

 

 

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1the President of the Senate, and (v) the Minority Leader of the
2Senate. The reports to the General Assembly shall be filed with
3the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of
4the Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the
5Clerk and the Secretary shall direct. The Commission's report
6may not disaggregate data to a level that may disclose
7personally identifying information of individual students.
8    The sharing and reporting of student data under this
9subsection (j) must be in accordance with the requirements
10under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
111974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties
12must preserve the confidentiality of the information as
13required by law. The names of the grant recipients under this
14Section are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
15Information Act.
16    Public university campuses that fail to submit a report
17under this subsection (j) or that fail to adhere to any other
18requirements under this Section may not be eligible for
19distribution of funds under the Program for the next academic
20year, but may be eligible for distribution of funds for each
21academic year thereafter.
22    (k) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this
23Section.
24    (l) This Section is repealed on October 1, 2024.
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.".