When I served as secretary of education for President Barack Obama, I recognized how important it was to strengthen, improve and reform the systems that shape educational opportunities for youths from cradle to career. While President Donald Trump’s administration abdicates its responsibility to improve literacy, strengthen math scores and foster upward economic mobility, it’s more important than ever for state lawmakers to create new, affordable pathways to a bachelor’s degree.
A bachelor’s degree continues to be the fuel that propels people firmly into the middle class. Recent data show that median lifetime earnings are $1.2 million higher for people who earn a four-year degree. They have a homeownership rate of 74% and are 47% more likely to have health insurance provided through their employer. The tangible economic benefits of a bachelor’s degree go on and on at the individual level and to society in general.
And yet, a bachelor’s degree is out of reach for too many people. In Chicago, 71% of white residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher, but only 28% of Black residents and 22% of Latino residents have at least a four-year degree. As we sit upon a mountain of evidence pointing to the value of a bachelor’s degree, state lawmakers have an obligation to consider what else they can do to facilitate degree attainment.
Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed giving Illinois residents the option to pursue a bachelor’s degree in high-need fields through a community college. His proposal would allow community colleges to establish bachelor’s degree programs in areas where there’s a demonstrated unmet workforce need and student demand that isn’t being met by nearby universities.
Our state’s community college system serves a diverse population, including working adults, parents and people balancing multiple responsibilities. The reality is that traditional university models aren’t a realistic option for some people. It’s the responsibility of state decision-makers to use every tool available to bend our systems toward the needs all people.
Illinois would not be the first state to take advantage of community college baccalaureate programs. Twenty-four states, including Indiana, Missouri and Michigan, have passed laws to expand the range of options available to earn a bachelor’s degree.
While public and private not-for-profit universities may be concerned about how this will affect their future enrollment, data does not exist to support arguments that this proposal will cannibalize the market for future students. People in other states who have taken advantage of this type of degree path tend to be older adults who either can’t afford, can’t get to or can’t access the course schedules offered by universities.
Those opportunities are sorely needed in our state. We’re still struggling to find qualified workers in some of our most important professions. For example, Illinois faces a significant shortage of nurses — nearly 15,000 at last count — and half the state’s nurses are older than 55, with many considering retirement in the next five years.
Nearly 80% of school superintendents have reported significant to extreme challenges staffing pre-kindergarten classrooms. Smaller districts have seen even greater challenges.
Illinois lawmakers can address critical workforce gaps and improve degree attainment by passing Pritzker’s proposal to establish community college baccalaureate programs.
I began this piece by recognizing the responsibility that state lawmakers have to improve student outcomes and foster upward economic mobility. Illinois has an opportunity to join a growing number of states that recognize the added value community colleges can provide. Illinois residents need affordable, reliable educational resources, workers need well-paying jobs, and employers need talented, well-equipped employees. Community college baccalaureate programs can accomplish all of that and more.
Residents who support this proposal can call their state representatives and state senators and tell them it’s time to pass legislation to create community college baccalaureate programs in Illinois.
Arne Duncan served as U.S. secretary of education from 2009 to 2015.
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