Illinois may soon join a growing number of states permitting community colleges to offer four-year degrees, and Aurora-area colleges are enthusiastic about the possibility.
An amendment to the Public Community College Act currently in the Illinois House and Senate recently received the support of Gov. JB Pritzker, according to a news release from the Illinois Community College Board.
Essentially, the legislation would allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees to students, provided the schools meet certain conditions and have their programs approved and accredited by the appropriate state bodies.
The proposed initiative has two major purposes, according to the news release: providing working adults enrolled in community college the opportunity to obtain a bachelor’s degree in the community they work in, and addressing growing workforce needs in certain sectors. It’s supported by the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Community College Trustees Association and the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents.
The programs offered by community colleges if the legislation passes are to be decided by the schools themselves based on what is most needed in their communities, but Brian Durham, executive director of the Illinois Community College Board, said there’s a focus on applied and technical programs like health care, early childhood education, advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity or technology degrees.
In the Aurora area, Waubonsee Community College and the College of DuPage could both be eligible to offer bachelor’s degrees should the legislation pass.
Waubonsee’s President Brian Knetl said the college is excited by the proposed legislation.
“Roughly 25% of our students are enrolled in career and technical education programs,” Knetl said in a statement provided to The Beacon-News, “and we know that community college baccalaureate programs are often extraordinarily helpful to these students looking to further grow their skills in high-demand, highly specialized fields.”
The College of DuPage noted that there are “many details yet to be finalized with the proposed legislation,” but said that the college “recognizes the applied nature of these programs strengthens the talent pipeline for economic prosperity.”
The college plans to collaborate with legislators and industry partners to explore implementing a program in the future should the bill pass.
The legislation is set to be considered in the spring session of the General Assembly in Springfield, a spokesperson for the Illinois Community College Board said. But, even if it is adopted by the end of this year’s legislative session, it would probably take at least another year before community colleges can begin to roll out the program.
Offering four-year degrees would not be a requirement for community colleges, Durham said, but would rather provide these schools with an option to offer them. To offer bachelor’s degrees, however, participating colleges would need to first develop a program and curriculum, have their programs approved by the Illinois Community College Board and Illinois Board of Higher Education, then have the program accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
The Higher Learning Commission accredits colleges and universities in 20 states and Washington, D.C., according to its website. It requires accredited colleges starting to offer bachelor’s degrees – if they have not previously done so – to undergo review through a “substantive change” process, a spokesperson for the organization said in an email to The Beacon-News. They’ve also issued guidance for two-year institutions hoping to expand to offer bachelor’s degrees.
Illinois is far from the first state to consider allowing community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees – 24 other states have instituted similar programs, according to data from the Community College Baccalaureate Association.
Durham said the target participants for this program are people who live and work in the area they attend school, especially those who typically may not go on to finish a bachelor’s degree because of logistical barriers.
“One of the myths, if you will, is that … it might take enrollments from the (four-year universities),” Durham said on Tuesday. “Community colleges serve non-traditional students, community colleges, you know, serve adults, typically people that are working. They can’t commute 50 miles to a university, they can’t go to class 9 to 10:30 on a Tuesday (or) Thursday.”
Both Waubonsee and College of DuPage emphasized that they will continue to foster and develop relationships with four-year universities to provide multiple options for students.
Waubonsee – which has locations in Aurora, Sugar Grove and Plano – has around 5,400 students, according to data from the United States Department of Education. According to the most recent available data, 42% of its students withdrew before graduating within eight years of starting at the college, while 30% graduated and 28% transferred.
The College of DuPage has its main location in Glen Ellyn, with satellites in Addison, Carol Stream, Naperville and Westmont. It has around 14,400 students according to Department of Education data. Within eight years of starting at the school, 33% of its students had withdrawn, 42% transferred and 24% graduated, according to the most recent available data.
At both colleges, over half of the students attend part-time, according to the Department of Education.
Lower prices than traditional four-year universities is another intended benefit of this kind of program, Durham said, noting that the Illinois bill stipulates that tuition per credit hour for the last two years of the four-year degree at a community college be capped at 150% of the tuition cost of associate’s degree-level classes.
If the legislation passes, the proposed programs would be tuition-funded, Durham said, meaning they would not require additional government funding. The students in this program would still have access to government-issued financial aid, like Pell Grants.
And, while the future of federal funding access for schools and universities remains uncertain in light of recent Trump administration proposals surrounding diversity programs, Durham said he is not aware at this point of any ways in which federal funding threats could jeopardize the future of this program.
“These are, you know, really just very workforce-oriented programs about raising the lives and livelihood(s) and the career path(s) for students that want to go on to the baccalaureate degree,” Durham said on Tuesday. “To me, that’s an issue that should appeal to everyone.”
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
