HCM Commends Illinois Board of Higher Education on Release of Illinois Commission on Equitable Public University Funding Report
On March 1, 2024, the Illinois Commission on Equitable Public University Funding submitted its recommendations report to the Illinois General Assembly. The Commission was established by Public Act 102-0570 and was tasked with developing a structure that funds the state’s public universities in an adequate, equitable, and stable manner – a key strategy in the state’s strategic plan for higher education, A Thriving Illinois. The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) was charged with supporting the Commission’s work. Under the new formula, funds will be directed to the state’s public institutions in a transparent manner through an equity-centered adequacy target with the funding at each institution based on the particular makeup and needs of the student body, the characteristics and mission of the institution, and the resources it has available to it.
The new proposed funding model:
Determines for each institution a unique funding level based on its students’ needs, mission, and variety of programs.
Encourages greater access and success for historically underrepresented students.
Provides a funding increase to every institution when new dollars are invested.
Ensures institutions have flexibility to invest in ways that best serve their students.
Incentivizes institutions to reduce reliance on student tuition with increased state investment.
Distributes new funding through an equity allocation.
Calls for transparency and increasing accountability as institutions get closer to adequate funding.
HCM Strategists is proud to have supported the Commission since its formation in 2021, providing meeting and stakeholder facilitation, technical support and content expertise to the Commission’s work, particularly in the area of examining and redesigning the state’s funding formula model to include an transparent and accountable equity allocation.
Materials
Commission Report of Recommendations
In the News
WCIA News: State commission unveils report on Illinois public university inequities
Capitol News Illinois: State commission says Illinois underfunds public universities by $1.4 billion.
