Illinois Measure Seeks to Require State Universities to Accept Community College Transfers
Illinois Measure Seeks to Require State Universities to Accept Community College Transfers (Springfield, IL) (via The Center Square) — State Sen. Paul Faraci is pushing legislation that would keep more young college students in Illinois for their entire collegiate experience.
Recently introduced by the first-term lawmaker, House Bill 3760 would require Eastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University to create a four-year admissions program that admits community college transfer students each semester.
Beginning with academic school year 2024-2025, the new program would guarantee admission to any of those four institutions to all applicants who have enrolled at an Illinois community college after graduating from a local high school, earned a minimum of 36 graded, transferable semester hours at the time of application to the university and have attained a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all completed transferable coursework while having fulfilled all the university’s English language proficiency mandates.
“We have seen tremendous success with this pilot program at the University of Illinois,” Faraci, D-Champaign, said in a news release. “This action will give more students across our state the chance to stay in Illinois for higher education.”
HB 3760 effectively builds on a pair of existing laws that provide automatic admissions to Illinois universities, with one designated for high school graduates and the other for community college graduates.
The previous law required the University of Illinois to admit community college transfer students who meet certain requirements and the measure now being proposed would extend that guarantee to the four other state-run universities.
“This measure will ensure that Illinois community college transfer students who meet certain academic requirements will have guaranteed admission to these universities,” Faraci added. “It’s a win-win situation for both the students and the universities as it provides opportunities for students to continue their education while also helping the universities to fill their enrollment goals.”
HB 3760 is now poised to be heard by the full Senate after passing the Senate Higher Education Committee earlier this month.
Illinois Measure Seeks to Require State Universities to Accept Community College Transfers
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