Higher education matters. A college degree opens doors to greater opportunities, sparks innovation, and builds careers that power our state’s economy. However, for too many students in Illinois, higher education is simply out of reach.

Illinois has an opportunity to change this, and you can help. We have prepared an open letter calling on our leaders in the Illinois legislature to support and pass SB13/HB1581, the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act.

We are looking for people who care about higher education in Illinois to join us by signing onto the letter.

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Read the Letter

To the Honorable Illinois House Speaker Welch, Illinois Senate President Harmon, Illinois Senate Majority Lightford, Illinois Senate Minority Leader Curran,  House Majority Leader Gabel, and House Minority Leader McCombie:

We, the undersigned, write today as members and beneficiaries of Illinois public universities. We are students, faculty and staff, alumni, and those of us who call ourselves neighbors, friends and partners of our local public 4-year institutions. As a fundamental access point to greater opportunity, innovation, and economic sustainability for our communities, our public university system is an essential public resource and public good for our state. Accordingly, we urge you to enthusiastically support and pass SB13/HB1581, the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act, which promises to not just stabilize Illinois’ public universities but provide them the resources necessary to serve and send thousands more Illinois changemakers into our communities for generations to come.

In recent years, Illinois has taken important steps to improve college affordability through student financial aid like the Monetary Award Program, and we appreciate these efforts. That said, stronger, more data-informed investments into our public universities remain an urgently needed missing piece of the college access and success puzzle. While financial aid supports more students in affording and enrolling in college, institutional funding ensures that public universities have the resources (such as academic advising, targeted institutional scholarships,  tutoring, and wraparound services) they need to ensure students from different regions and backgrounds succeed. Sadly, and despite efforts in recent years, the state’s overall investment in public universities is less than half of what it was in 2008. As a result, while the state used to shoulder the majority of costs, disinvestment has shifted the financial burden to students in the form of higher tuition. Worse still, distribution of state dollars is driven by politics, not state priorities or local need. This has left our schools to deal with high tuition and fees to offset lack of state support, along with deferred maintenance and program cuts. It has left working families with difficult decisions: Shoulder a greater share of rising tuition to attend a public university in-state, leave the state for more affordable options, or forgo college altogether.

Fortunately, there is a better way. The Commission for Equitable Higher Education Funding spent over two years analyzing how Illinois might change its approach to university funding and put the state on a path to full and fair funding. With all universities involved, and together with financial experts, leaders from the executive and legislative branch, and outside advocates, the Commission developed an approach that has come to be known as the Adequate & Equitable Funding formula (AEF).  Codified in SB13/HB1581, AEF creates a formula that prioritizes outcomes and need. It considers a university’s resources, mission, enrollment, and what the research says about the evidence-based programs and services that support students’ ability to thrive and complete their degree. With those insights, the formula identifies what each university needs and how far each is from full funding. This allows the state to target new dollars where they are needed most, and to make annual increases designed to put the entire university system on a path to full funding. The result? More students will be able to affordably access universities. Campuses will be better equipped to support students. And every Illinois community wins, with more college graduates building careers, contributing to Illinois communities and strengthening the state’s economy. It is a win-win-win for Illinois.

Like you, we love our state and want every Illinois community to prosper. In a world where the vast majority of new jobs in our state require a postsecondary degree – at least 70% – we can and must do better. The status quo is not working, and our students and economy are paying the price. 

Our public universities are engines of learning, opportunity, and growth, and investing in them is an investment in Illinois’ future. It is time to fund higher education for the future we want. It is time to pass AEF.

Sincerely,
The Coalition for Transforming Higher Education

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Sign the Letter

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Resources

Learn more about SB 13/HB 1581

Dive deeper into the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act.