Legislation introduced in the spring session of the General Assembly would overhaul the funding formula for state universities in Illinois.
It would do so to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and would lower grade point average standards.
If passed, Illinois would be the first state to implement a diversity-based funding formula like this one.
The newly-proposed formula for funding state universities would rely on many different aspects, such as the academic programs available at each school, their overall enrollment, and the diversity of the student body including geographic, racial and socioeconomic factors.
It would boost funding for some schools, but not for others. One of the biggest losers in the new system is the state’s flagship institution, the University of Illinois.
“The proposed legislation penalizes institutions that provide the most support for underrepresented and rural students while failing to ensure long-term access,” said University of Illinois Executive Vice President Dr. Nicholas Jones during a contentious Senate hearing in April. “Although we support several of the key aspirational goals of the bill, we do not agree with the methodology proposed to achieve those goals. Nor do we agree that this will provide what the University of Illinois needs to succeed.”
His concerns were dismissed by the Senate sponsor as “misinformation.”
At a different committee hearing, U of I President Timothy Killeen took issue with the proposal’s lack of metrics for academic performance, including graduation.
“Maybe it’s a philosophical difference, but there ought to be an outcome orientation to the overall methodology to support public higher education in the state of Illinois,” Killeen said. “That includes graduation. It includes participation in civil society.”
The bill was the result of years of meetings of a funding formula reform commission which had been previously created by legislation passed by the General Assembly. But members of the commission said that several important items were left out of the discussion.
For example, questions about the bill’s constitutionality were brought to the sponsor’s attention but were never thoroughly addressed. Schools raised significant concerns about the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s designation as the pass-through agency for their appropriations, given challenges IBHE has had with distribution of grant funds and other problems such as meeting reporting deadlines or compiling its own budget.
There have also been transparency issues raised, as the bill removes committee hearings to discuss operational funding, requiring instead that universities only discuss capital funding needs with the state.
The House Bill, HB 1581, which has a couple dozen co-sponsors, all Democrats, did not make it out of the House Rules Committee this spring. A companion Senate Bill, SB 13, also failed to advance before session adjourned. Supporters of both bills have pledged to continue their work, possibly in the fall veto session or next spring.
It would boost funding for some schools, but not for others. One of the biggest losers in the new system is the state’s flagship institution, the University of Illinois.
“The proposed legislation penalizes institutions that provide the most support for underrepresented and rural students while failing to ensure long-term access,” said University of Illinois Executive Vice President Dr. Nicholas Jones during a contentious Senate hearing in April. “Although we support several of the key aspirational goals of the bill, we do not agree with the methodology proposed to achieve those goals. Nor do we agree that this will provide what the University of Illinois needs to succeed.”
His concerns were dismissed by the Senate sponsor as “misinformation.”
At a different committee hearing, U of I President Timothy Killeen took issue with the proposal’s lack of metrics for academic performance, including graduation.
“Maybe it’s a philosophical difference, but there ought to be an outcome orientation to the overall methodology to support public higher education in the state of Illinois,” Killeen said. “That includes graduation. It includes participation in civil society.”
The bill was the result of years of meetings of a funding formula reform commission which had been previously created by legislation passed by the General Assembly. But members of the commission said that several important items were left out of the discussion.
For example, questions about the bill’s constitutionality were brought to the sponsor’s attention but were never thoroughly addressed. Schools raised significant concerns about the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s designation as the pass-through agency for their appropriations, given challenges IBHE has had with distribution of grant funds and other problems such as meeting reporting deadlines or compiling its own budget.
There have also been transparency issues raised, as the bill removes committee hearings to discuss operational funding, requiring instead that universities only discuss capital funding needs with the state.
The House Bill, HB 1581, which has a couple dozen co-sponsors, all Democrats, did not make it out of the House Rules Committee this spring. A companion Senate Bill, SB 13, also failed to advance before session adjourned. Supporters of both bills have pledged to continue their work, possibly in the fall veto session or next spring.