Illinois is home to nine public universities, 48 community colleges, and 123 private colleges and universities. In Fall 2006, 25 percent of students were enrolled in public universities, 43 percent in community colleges, and the other 32 percent in private colleges and universities. 68 percent of students were undergraduates, and the rest were enrolled in graduate or professional programs in the state. The operations of each Illinois college and university is overseen by governing boards whose responsibilities are overseen by state law; in public universities and colleges, boards are appointed or elected by the constituencies of the districts in which the college is located. The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) is the principal coordinating board for higher education, and it is responsible for master planning, approval of new units of instruction, research ,and public service at public colleges and universities. It also grants private institutions the right to offer and operate degree-granting programs.
Funding Trends for Higher Education in Illinois
The general trend in higher education funding in Illinois has been to decrease funding; in recent years, Illinois has increased funding and attention to elementary and secondary education by over 46.8 percent, while funding for higher education has dropped by 17.9 percent for public universities and 13.1 percent for community colleges. Many institutions of higher learning are thus more reliant on student tuition and fees, outside giving, and local property taxes (in the case of community colleges).
Illinois Programs for Higher Education
The most recent biennial state higher education report card published by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education (2006) gave Illinois an “F” for affordability, meaning most likely that the state’s decrease in funding for higher education has made it less affordable over the past decade. Tuition and fees in Illinois are significantly higher than in other states. The state’s main financial assistance program – MAP (Monetary Award Program) – has been unable to keep up with the rise in tuition and fees. Many universities, such as the University of Illinois, have begun turning to institutional sources to cover what is no longer paid for by MAP, leading to an upward trend in tuition prices to help fund increased need-based aid programs. Between 2006 and 2007, tuition at the University of Illinois’ Champaign campus increased by 14.5 percent.
Outcomes of Higher Education in the State
Though Illinois fares well in participation rates, it continues to have low Minority Participation Index scores, even though it has an increasingly diverse population. In fact, its scores are on this index are below the national average. Illinois universities and colleges continue to improve Illinois’ ranking on measures of human capital development. The number of residents with a bachelor’s degree of higher has been rising since 1990 to approximately 30 percent today. Illinois had consistently been above the national average on this indicator. Though Illinois loses many of its graduates, research suggests Illinois also has a high influx of residents with bachelor’s degrees or higher.
Additionally, Illinois ranks seventh nationally in terms of total academic R&D (research and development) spending. It is near the national average on a per-capita basis. According to the National Science Foundation, Illinois is one of the top 10 states in terms of overall industrial R&D activity. R&D is an excellent indicator of the productivity and quality of the faculties and departments in universities in the state.
Goals for the Future of Higher Education Funding in Illinois
Illinois has an excellent legacy in terms of public policy concerning public education, but it continues and will continue to face challenges in the forms of fostering diversity and keeping state funding available for the state’s colleges and universities. Higher education is crucial to the state’s economic and social future, and as such Illinois must continue to be vigilant in its pursuit to ensure high quality higher education in the State of Illinois.
