Public Act 0159 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2503 Enrolled LRB103 27470 RJT 53842 b

Public Act 103-0159

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended by adding Section 6-1.5 and by changing Sections 6-2 and 6-4.1 as follows:

(110 ILCS 805/6-1.5 new)

Sec. 6-1.5. Attending community college outside of resident district.

(a) The purpose of this Section is to expand educational services to the greatest number of students in each community college district and maximize the utilization of the finances, facilities, equipment, and personnel of each district to provide educational services that might otherwise be impracticable for a district individually. This Section is not intended to limit the ability of any community college district to establish new units of instruction, research, or public service under Section 3-25.1 of this Act.

(b) In this Section:

"Receiving college" means the community college district receiving a student from another community college district.

"Sending college" means the community college district sending a student to another community college district.

(c) Pursuant to this Section, if a resident of a community college district wants to attend the community college maintained by the district of his or her residence, but the student wants to enroll in a program that is not offered by that community college and the community college does not have a contractual agreement under Section 3-40 of this Act for such a program, then the student, subject to Section 3-17, may attend any recognized public community college in any other district and shall pay tuition and fees at the in-district rate of the receiving college. If the student is seeking State or federal financial assistance, then the student shall apply for assistance at the receiving college.

(d) The State Board shall maintain a program directory on the State Board's website to assist community colleges in determining which programs are offered at each community college. At a minimum, this directory shall provide a comparison of program titles and classification of instructional program codes. Delivery methods and minor program differences, such as the length of a semester, online versus in-person instruction, competency-based instruction, and program credit hours, and minor course requirement differences do not constitute a difference in a program for purposes of attending another community college under this Section. Programmatic differences shall be based upon classification of instructional program codes, the occupational outlook for completers, or other substantial programmatic differences. Determinations regarding programmatic differences shall be first determined by the sending college. The State Board shall establish a process for resolving disputes between community college districts regarding programmatic differences.

(e) Students who want to enroll at a receiving college shall make an application to their sending college in accordance with rules and procedures established and published by their sending college. Community colleges shall make every attempt to review such requests in a timely manner so as to not impede the students' educational progress. Students shall secure from their sending college a letter designating them as participants in an approved program. A copy of such letter shall be sent to the receiving college. A student may not enroll under the provisions of this Section in a program of a receiving college at the in-district tuition rate if the student's educational objectives can be met at the sending college.

(f) Upon written approval from the sending college, a student shall register at the receiving college and shall be a member of the receiving college's district for the term of the student's enrollment. A student may choose to complete any required general education coursework and may take approved courses at the sending college or at the receiving college. Upon successful completion, courses taken at either the sending college or the receiving college shall be acceptable for transfer to the sending college or receiving college for completion of any program. The receiving college shall maintain admission records and transcripts and issue any degrees or certificates to the student upon completing the educational program. The receiving college shall provide copies of such records to the sending college at the student's request or as part of any program verification for the sending college.

(g) The receiving college shall provide access to its learning resources center and other instructional resources for students from the sending college, equal to those provided for any other student at the receiving college. The receiving college shall also provide counseling and guidance and other services that facilitate the learning process.

(h) The receiving college shall be considered the student's district for athletic eligibility, for any activity in which the student officially represents a community college, for the military, and for scholarships offered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Other athletic eligibility requirements shall be determined by the rules of the receiving college's athletic conference. Students from any sending college are eligible at the receiving college for any other extracurricular activities, scholarships, or other recognition of excellence in the program for which they are attending at the receiving college.

(i) Except for equalization grants, the receiving college is eligible to file claims for State grants under Section 2-16.02 of this Act for any student from the sending college enrolled in courses offered at the receiving college. The receiving college shall provide the sending college with the semester credit hours taken by each student from the sending college for purposes of equalization grants. If the student enrolls in courses offered at the sending college, the sending college shall claim semester credit hours provided to the student in attendance at the sending college.

(110 ILCS 805/6-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 106-2)

Sec. 6-2. Any graduate of a recognized high school or student otherwise qualified to attend a public community college and residing outside a community college district but within this State may, subject to Section 3-17, attend any recognized public community college in the State at the tuition rate of a student residing in the district. Subject to appropriation, the State Board shall pay the difference between the in-district and out-of-district tuition amounts to the community college district for any semester or term of that academic year.

If he or she becomes a resident of a community college district, he or she shall be classified as a resident of that district at the beginning of any semester or term following that change of residence and the State Board shall no longer pay the difference in tuition rates.

If a resident of a community college district wishes to attend the community college maintained by the district of his or her residence but the program in which the student wishes to enroll is not offered by that community college, and the community college maintained by the district of his residence does not have a contractual agreement under Section 3-40 of this Act for such program, the student may attend any recognized public community college in some other district, subject to the provisions of Section 3-17, and have his or her tuition, as defined herein, paid by the community college district of his or her residence while enrolled in a program at that college which is not offered by his or her home community college if he or she makes application to his or her home board at least 30 days prior to the beginning of any semester, quarter or term in accordance with rules, regulations and procedures established and published by his or her home board. The payment of tuition by his or her district of residence may not exceed the per Per capita cost shall of the community college attended for the previous year, less certain deductions, to be computed by adding all of the non-capital expenditures for the previous year, including interest, to the depreciation on the capital outlay expenditures paid from sources other than State and federal funds, less any payments toward non-capital expenditures received from State and federal sources for the previous year (except for grants through the State Board under Section 2-16.02 of this Act), and dividing that amount by the number of full-time equivalent students for that fiscal year as defined under this Section. This average per student computation shall be converted to a semester hour base and further reduced by the combined rate of State grants, other than equalization grants for the current year as provided under Section 2-16.02 of this Act, and any rate of tuition and fees assessed for all students for the current year as authorized under Section 6-4 of this Act.

Payment shall be made hereunder to the community college district of attendance immediately upon receipt, by the district liable for the payment, of a statement from that community college district of the amount due it. Before sending such a statement requesting payment, however, the community college district of attendance shall make all calculations and deductions required under this Section so that the amount requested for payment is the exact amount required under this Section to be paid by the district liable for payment.

If the moneys in the educational fund are insufficient to meet such payments, the district liable for such payments may issue tax anticipation warrants as provided in Section 3-20.10.

A full-time equivalent student for a semester or term is defined as a student doing 15 semester hours of work per semester or the equivalent thereof, and the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled per term shall be determined by dividing by 15 the total number of semester hours for which State Board grants are received, or the equivalent thereof, carried by all students of the college through the mid-term of each semester or term. The number of full-time equivalent students for a fiscal year shall be computed by adding the total number of semester hours of work or the equivalent thereof carried by all students of the college through the mid-term of each semester or term during that fiscal year and dividing that sum by 30 semester hours. Tuition of students carrying more or less than 15 semester hours of work per semester or the equivalent thereof shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours so carried bears to 15 semester hours or the equivalent thereof.

If the United States Government, the State of Illinois, or any agency pays tuition for any community college student, neither the district of residence of the student nor the student may be required to pay that tuition or such part thereof as is otherwise paid. No part of the State's financial responsibility provided for in Section 2-16 may be transferred to a student's district of residence under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 100-884, eff. 1-1-19.)

(110 ILCS 805/6-4.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 106-4.1)

Sec. 6-4.1. If a resident of Illinois qualifies for admission to a public community college under Section 3-17 but does not qualify for financial support under Section 6-1.5 or 6-2, that person he may be enrolled in the college upon payment of the difference between the per capita cost as defined in Section 6-2 less any payments toward noncapital expenditures received from State and federal sources for the previous year except grants through the State Board as authorized in Section 2-16 or 2-16.02, as the case may be, converted to a semester hour base, and the combined rate of State grants other than equalization grants for the current year as authorized in Section 2-16.02, notwithstanding tuition limits of Section 6-4. Subject to Section 3-17, a public community college may accept out-of-state students upon payment of the per capita cost as defined in Section 6-2. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, the out-of-district or out-of-state tuition, whichever is applicable, may be waived for a student who is employed for at least 35 hours per week by an entity located in the district or is enrolled in a course that is being provided under terms of a contract for services between the employing entity and the college.

(Source: P.A. 100-884, eff. 1-1-19.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2024