Section 1090.10  Purpose

 

The purpose of this Part is to provide for the distribution of competitive grant funds to help deliver upper division courses and bachelor's degree programs offered by bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities at a location geographically convenient to student populations currently being served by existing public community colleges [110 ILCS 205/9.33(a)].

 

Section 1090.20  Definitions

 

"Baccalaureate completion program" means upper division courses and bachelor's degree programs offered by 4-year degree-granting colleges and universities at a location geographically convenient to student populations currently being served by existing public community colleges [110 ILCS 205/9.33(a)].  The programs offered must have been authorized by the Board or are exempt from Board authorization pursuant to the Academic Degree Act [110 ILCS 1010].  

 

"Board" or "IBHE" means the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

 

"Community college" means the public community colleges of this State.

 

"DFPR" means the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or its successor.

 

"4-year degree-granting colleges and universities" means, solely for the purposes of this Part, a public or nonpublic institution of higher education located in this State that offers baccalaureate degrees and meets one of the following categories:

 

"Public universities" means Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois, and Western Illinois University.

 

"Nonpublic, not-for-profit institutions" means colleges and universities based in Illinois that have been authorized to operate within the State of Illinois pursuant to the Private College Act [110 ILCS 1005] and/or the Academic Degree Act [110 ILCS 1010] or have been in continuous operation and granted degrees within the State of Illinois before the effective date of those Acts and have not modified the business entity since the effective dates of those Acts.

 

"Grantee" means partnership of community college or colleges and 4-year degree-granting institution or institutions jointly applying for the grant.

 

"Instructional technology tools" means the equipment and materials necessary to bring the academic experience of the baccalaureate program to the student.  This includes the equipment to bring instructional communications from a partnering institution or its providers to the site, lab equipment, learning resources, and other program-specific materials.  It does not include the replacement of equipment or materials.

 

"Investment" means documentation of a monetary contribution, an in-kind contribution, or a combination of both that equals no less than 50 percent of the amount of the grant award.  Contributions must be used to provide the components that are necessary to bring the academic experience of the baccalaureate program to the student.  This includes faculty, equipment, classroom space, learning resources, student services, program-specific materials, and other academic-related resources.

 

Section 1090.30  Eligibility

 

a)         Eligible applications must be jointly submitted by one or more public community colleges and one or more public and/or private, not-for-profit, 4-year colleges or universities [110 ILCS 205/9.33(b)].   

 

b)         Each partnering institution (both the community college or colleges and the 4‑year institution or institutions) must also invest in the partnership.  The combined investment of the partner institutions must equal no less than 50% of the amount of the grant [110 ILCS 205/9.33(d)].  

 

c)         New partnerships are eligible.  An existing partnership may be eligible if the partnering institutions are providing an additional baccalaureate completion program that was not offered prior to applying for grant funding.  Proposals to continue a program funded by this grant program for a second or third year will be considered if at least 75 percent of the original cohort is retained or, if approved by IBHE, an alternative measure demonstrating low student attrition.

 

d)         Grants will be awarded only to baccalaureate completion programs as defined in Section 1090.20.

 

Section 1090.40  Application

 

Applications must be jointly submitted by one or more public community colleges and one or more public or private, not-for-profit, 4-year colleges or universities [110 ILCS 205/9.33(b)].

 

a)         Applications for grant funds shall be made on prescribed forms developed by the Board and shall include, at a minimum, the following provisions and information: 

 

1)         The names, addresses, chief officers and general descriptions of the applicants;

 

2)         The 4-year degree-granting college or university that will serve as the fiscal agent;

 

3)         A grant proposal for which grant funding is requested.  A request for proposals (RFP) will provide any restrictions or priorities regarding the degree program areas as furnished by the Board at the time the RFP is announced;

 

4)         If the proposal involves an existing degree program, the grantee will provide a plan describing how the existing program outcomes will be incorporated into evaluating the proposed degree program offering;

 

5)         Data from the partnering institutions for each of the previous 3 academic years, reported both at the institutional level and at the program level that aligns with this grant proposal, including the following:

 

A)        Number of students who enroll in the starting term;

 

B)        Number of students who successfully complete the academic year; and

 

C)        Retention rate of students during the academic year; 

 

6)         Proposals to continue a program funded by this grant program for a second or third year will be considered if at least 75 percent of the original cohort is retained or, if approved by IBHE, an alternative measure demonstrating low student attrition;

 

7)         An annual evaluation of the program as provided by the grantees at the end of the grant period; and

 

8)         Cost estimates and proposed expenditures of the program.  

 

b)         Grant applications may be obtained from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, 431 East Adams Street, Second Floor, Springfield, Illinois 62701-1404 or the Board's website at www.ibhe.org. 

 

c)         Completed applications must be submitted to the Board at the address indicated in subsection (b) and must be received by the announced deadline for the submission of applications, which shall not be less than 45 days after the announcement and release of application materials.

 

Section 1090.50  Use of Grant Funds 

 

a)         Grant funds may be used for any combination of the following:

 

1)         Instructional space on or near a community college [110 ILCS 205/9.33(c)(1)];

 

2)         Required training and advanced education of faculty for the new programs [110 ILCS 205/9.33(c)(2)];

 

3)         Instructional technology tools defined in Section 1090.10 [110 ILCS 205/9.33(c)(3)];

 

4)         Marketing and promotion for joint efforts [110 ILCS 205/9.33(c)(4)];

 

5)         Salaries of faculty and administrators;

 

6)         Access to learning resources and student services;

 

7)         Travel by faculty and administrators;

 

8)         Experience-based learning opportunities; and

 

9)         Auditor services for the report required in Section 1090.80.

 

b)         Grant funds shall not be used for the following:

 

1)         Capital projects, including construction, repair, renovation and miscellaneous capital improvements; and

 

2)         Expenditures for services or goods not directly associated with the grant. 

 

Section 1090.60  Review and Evaluation of Application

 

Grant awards shall be determined using a competitive process after reviewing the applications for compliance and evaluating the applicant proposals. 

 

a)         Board staff shall review the application for compliance that shall include but is not limited to the following:

 

1)         Definitions in Section 1090.20;

 

2)         Eligibility in Section 1090.30;

 

3)         Application in Section 1090.40; and

 

4)         Use of grant funds in Section 1090.50.

 

b)         Board staff shall evaluate the grant proposals using criteria that include but are not limited to the following:

 

1)         Evidence that the partnering institutions can or have delivered programs in an effective manner, i.e., the annual number of students enrolled and completions by field;  

 

2)         Evidence that the academic program will meet a regional or State need for a workforce with the training or skills provided;

 

3)         Evidence of an innovative approach or method that is supported by current research and best practices;

 

4)         An agreed upon pathway for students to articulate courses offered by the community college to the 4-year degree program;

 

5)         Evidence of the best use of existing resources in the investments defined in Section 1090.20; and

 

6)         Effective use of grant funds.

 

c)        The Board staff may request additional documentation and/or a meeting with the institutional representatives to resolve questions about the application.  In the event that material submitted by an applicant institution is incomplete or not of sufficient detail to provide an understanding of the proposed program, the Board staff will request additional information.

 

d)         After the evaluation is complete, the Board shall provide written notification to an applicant indicating whether the application is in compliance.

 

Section 1090.70  Grant Award

 

The number and amount of grant awards shall be determined annually, based upon the appropriation or allocation of funds.  The awards will provide assistance with the grantee's starting costs to provide a baccalaureate completion program.  

 

Section 1090.80  Grant Agreement

 

a)         Grant funds may not be expended except pursuant to a written grant agreement, and disbursement of grant funds without a grant agreement is prohibited.  At a minimum, a grant agreement shall: 

 

1)         Include how the State's grant will be matched by dollars from the partner institutions.  The combined investment of the partner institutions must equal no less than 50% of the amount of the grant.  [110 ILCS 205/9.33(d)];

 

2)         Describe the purpose of the grant and be signed by authorized representatives of the Board, the community college, and the 4-year degree-granting partner institution or institutions;

 

3)         Specify how payments shall be made and the financial controls applicable to the grant, including an agreement to file quarterly reports describing the progress of the projects and the expenditure of the related grant funds;

 

4)         Specify that the use of grant funds will be consistent with Section 1090.50;

 

5)         Specify the period of time for which the grant is valid and the period of time during which grant funds may be expended by the grantee;

 

6)         Contain a provision that all funds remaining at the end of the grant agreement, or at the expiration of the period of time grant funds are available for expenditure or obligation by the grantee, shall be returned to the State within 45 days;

 

7)         Contain a provision that any grantees receiving grant funds are required to permit the Board,  the Auditor General or the Attorney General to inspect and audit any books, records or papers related to the projects for which grant funds were provided;

 

8)         Contain a provision in which the grantee certifies under oath that all information in the grant agreement is true and correct to the best of the grantee's knowledge, information and belief; that the funds shall be used only for the purposes described in the grant agreement; and that the award of grant funds is conditioned upon that certification;

 

9)         Provide that the grantee shall contract with an external auditor who is a certified public accountant licensed by DFPR to conduct an audit of the expenditure of grant funds provided under this program at the end of the grant period to verify that grant funds were expended pursuant to the grant agreement and not for unauthorized purposes; and

 

10)       Require grantee to use the interest earned on any grant funds for eligible projects.  The interest earned on grant funds shall not change the amount of the grant.

 

b)         The Board may withhold or suspend the distribution of grant funds for failure to file required quarterly reports. 

 

c)         Upon the execution of a grant agreement, the Board will process a voucher to the grantee in accordance with the terms of the grant agreement, provided that the funds have been appropriated and have been made available to the Board.

 

Section 1090.90  Audit Guidelines

 

a)         To fulfill the audit requirements of this Part, the grantee shall contract with an external auditor who is a certified public accountant licensed by DFPR to perform an audit as specified in subsection (b). 

 

b)         The external auditor shall:

           

1)         Receive copies of the grantee's application, a certified grant agreement and a copy of this Part;

 

2)         Verify the expenditure of funds as provided for in this Part and ensure that funds were expended for the uses that were listed in the grant agreement; and

 

3)         Provide an audit report to the Board including a description of the tests performed and the audit findings.

 

c)         In the event that an audit or other evidence establishes that an overpayment was made in a grant to a grantee, a reimbursement to the Board shall be required.  A reimbursement is required in the following situations:

 

1)         Grant funds were not expended within the grant period; or

 

2)         Grant funds were expended for purposes not authorized under the grant agreement.

 

d)         In the event that no audit is submitted, the partnering institutions that make up the grantee shall reimburse the State in the same proportion as their contributions to match the grant.