Bill Text: IL HB5453 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Public University Uniform Admission Pilot Program Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Public University Direct Admission Program Act. Repeals the provisions concerning the uniform admission system pilot program on December 31, 2025. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year, the Board of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and the State Board of Education, shall establish and administer a direct admission program to automatically offer admission to a public university to qualified high school seniors in this State and public community college students in this State who qualify to transfer to a public university. Provides that under the direct admission program, a public university is required to offer admission to any high school senior who meets the public university's coursework standards for admission and to any public community college transfer student who meets specified criteria. Sets forth program and reporting requirements. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-09 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5453 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5453-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5453 Introduced , by Rep. Carol Ammons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 118/1
110 ILCS 118/10
110 ILCS 118/17 new
Amends the Public University Uniform Admission Pilot Program Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Public University Direct Admission Program Act. Repeals the provisions concerning the uniform admission system pilot program on December 31, 2025. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year, the Board of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and the State Board of Education, shall establish and administer a direct admission program to automatically offer admission to a public university to qualified high school seniors in this State and public community college students in this State who qualify to transfer to a public university. Provides that under the direct admission program, a public university is required to offer admission to any high school senior who meets the public university's coursework standards for admission and to any public community college transfer student who meets specified criteria. Sets forth program and reporting requirements. Effective immediately.
LRB103 38846 RJT 68983 b
A BILL FOR
HB5453 LRB103 38846 RJT 68983 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Public University Uniform Admission Pilot
Program Act is amended by changing Sections 1 and 10 and by
adding Section 17 as follows:
(110 ILCS 118/1)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2027)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Public
University Direct Uniform Admission Pilot Program Act.
(Source: P.A. 101-448, eff. 1-1-20.)
(110 ILCS 118/10)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2027)
Sec. 10. Uniform admission system pilot program.
(a) Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, each
institution, except for the University of Illinois, shall
create a 4-year uniform admission system pilot program under
this Act to admit first-time freshman students for each
semester of the pilot program.
(b) Beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, the
University of Illinois shall create a 4-year uniform admission
system pilot program under this Act to admit community college

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transfer students for each semester of the pilot program.
The University of Illinois provides multiple pathways to
transfer and shall guarantee admission to all applicants who:
(1) have enrolled only at an Illinois community
college after graduating from an Illinois high school;
(2) have earned a minimum of 36 graded, transferable
semester hours at the time of application to the
University. Students are encouraged to consult the
Illinois Articulation Initiative general education core
curriculum course list and other resources at the State
and University level to determine course transferability;
(3) have attained a minimum grade point average of 3.0
in all transferable coursework completed at the time of
application to the University; and
(4) have satisfied the University's English language
proficiency requirement.
(c) Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, each
institution shall create a 4-year uniform admission system
pilot program under this Act to admit community college
transfer students for each semester of the pilot program. This
subsection does not apply to a university that already has a
uniform admission policy for transfer students equal to or
less restrictive than that prescribed in this Section and
maintains that policy for the duration of the effective period
of this subsection.
At a minimum, the universities shall guarantee admission

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to all applicants who:
(1) have enrolled at a State community college after
graduating from a State high school;
(2) have earned a minimum of 36 graded, transferable
semester hours at the time of application to the
university; students are encouraged to consult the
Illinois Articulation Initiative general education core
curriculum course list and other resources at the State
and university level to determine course transferability;
(3) have attained a minimum grade point average of 3.0
in all transferable coursework completed at the time of
application to the university; and
(4) have satisfied the university's English language
proficiency requirement.
Nothing in this Section prohibits institutions from
establishing or implementing less restrictive uniform
admission transfer policies.
(d) This Section is repealed on December 31, 2025.
(Source: P.A. 102-187, eff. 1-1-22; 103-205, eff. 1-1-24.)
(110 ILCS 118/17 new)
Sec. 17. Direct admission program.
(a) In this Section, "Public university" means the
University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago
State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State
University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois

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University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois
University, or any other public university now or hereafter
established or authorized by the General Assembly.
(b) Beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year, the Board
of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Illinois
Community College Board, the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission, and the State Board of Education, shall establish
and administer a direct admission program to automatically
offer admission into a public university to qualified high
school seniors in this State and to public community college
students in this State who qualify to transfer to a public
university.
(c) Under the direct admission program, a public
university shall be required to offer admission to any high
school senior who meets the public university's coursework
standards for admission and to any public community college
transfer student who meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Is enrolled at a public community college in this
State
(2) Has earned a minimum of 37 hours in the Illinois
Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum.
(3) Has attained a minimum cumulative grade point
average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent in all
transferable coursework completed at the time of
application to the public university.
(4) Has satisfied the public university's English

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language proficiency requirement.
(d) In establishing the direct admission program, the
Board of Higher Education shall specifically evaluate the
impact on low-income students, students of color, first
generation college students, students from populations
underserved in higher education, and students from rural areas
of this State.
(e) The direct admission program shall utilize data and
technology from the State Board of Education, the Illinois
Student Assistance Commission, and the Illinois Community
College Board or shall gather data and develop the technology
to automatically inform high school seniors and community
college transfer students of direct admission into the public
universities for which the students qualify or may utilize the
services of a statewide student application aggregation
vendor.
(f) The direct admission program shall provide admitted
high school seniors and community college transfer students
with the web address for the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission to find information regarding State grant programs,
support for financial aid application completion, and
scholarship searches and other financial aid-related
information and shall encourage students to determine their
eligibility for financial aid based on the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid or, if applicable, an application for
State financial aid.

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(g) The Board of Higher Education shall submit a report on
the direct admission program to the Governor and General
Assembly by February 1, 2026 and each February 1 thereafter.
The report shall include, but is not limited to, information
related to implementation of the direct admission program, the
demographic and geographic data of students offered direct
admission and the public university to which direct admission
was offered, the demographic and geographic data of high
school seniors who accepted direct admission and enrolled in
the public university that offered that direct admission,
annual comparable enrollment data of high school seniors and
community college transfer students, and recommendations to
improve the direct admission program.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision or law to the
contrary, all public institutions of higher education, the
State Board of Education, the Illinois Community College
Board, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and any
other State agency that collects pertinent data shall furnish
such data and information to the Board of Higher Education as
the Board of Higher Education deems necessary to fulfill the
requirements of this Section.