Public Act 0448 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0026 Enrolled LRB101 03315 AXK 48323 b

Public Act 101-0448

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Public University Uniform Admission Pilot Program Act.

Section 5. Definition. In this Act, "institution" means, except for the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University, and Chicago State University, a public university in this State.

Section 10. Uniform admission system pilot program. Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, each institution shall create a 4-year uniform admission system pilot program under this Act to admit first-time freshman students for each semester of the pilot program.

Section 15. Automatic admission.

(a) Each institution shall admit an applicant for general admission to the institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant graduated with a grade point average in the top 10% or was certified to be in the top 10% of the student's high school graduating class in one of the 2 school years preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for admission and:

(1) the applicant graduated from a public or private high school in this State accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization or from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense;

(2) the applicant:

(A) successfully completed the minimum college preparatory curriculum requirements established by law for admission to the institution; and

(B) satisfied the ACT college admission assessment or the SAT college admission assessment composite score and subscores required for admission to the institution to which the applicant applied as well as any composite scores or subscores for colleges within that institution; and

(3) if the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense, the applicant is a State resident or is entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate provided for State residents for the term or semester to which admitted.

(b) An applicant who does not satisfy the curriculum requirements prescribed by item (A) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this Section is considered to have satisfied those requirements for the purposes of this Act if the student completed the portion of the college preparatory curriculum that was available to the student but was unable to complete the remainder of the curriculum solely because courses necessary to complete the remainder were unavailable to the student at the appropriate times in the student's high school career as a result of course scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause not within the student's control. An institution may require a student's successful completion of such curriculum requirements prior to or concurrently with enrollment at the institution.

(c) An applicant who graduates in a graduating class of a school, whether public or non-public, that has so few students that class rank does not make a reliable contribution toward assessing the student's college readiness is considered to have satisfied the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section if the student has a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4-point scale and has met the requirements of items (A) and (B) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this Section.

Section 20. Admission requirements.

(a) To qualify for admission under this Act, an applicant must:

(1) submit an application before the expiration of any application filing deadline established by the institution; and

(2) provide a high school transcript or diploma that satisfies the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section.

(b) For purposes of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this Section, a student's official transcript or diploma must, not later than the end of the student's junior year, indicate:

(1) whether the student has satisfied or is on schedule to satisfy the requirements of item (A) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of Section 15 of this Act; or

(2) if subsection (b) of Section 15 of this Act applies to the student, whether the student has completed the portion of the college preparatory curriculum that was available to the student.

Section 25. Graduates of nonaccredited private schools.

(a) As used in this Section, "nonaccredited secondary education" means a course of study at the secondary school level in a nonaccredited private school setting.

(b) Because the State of Illinois considers successful completion of a nonaccredited secondary education to be equivalent to graduation from a public high school, an institution, in complying with this Act and for all other purposes, must treat an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student who presents evidence that he or she has successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education according to the same general standards, including specific standardized testing score requirements, as other applicants for undergraduate admission who have graduated from a public high school.

(c) An institution may not require an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student who presents evidence that he or she has successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education to:

(1) obtain or submit evidence that the person has obtained a general educational development certificate, certificate of high school equivalency, or other credentials equivalent to a public high school degree; or

(2) take an examination or comply with any other application or admission requirement not generally applicable to other applicants for undergraduate admission to the institution.

(d) In complying with this Act or otherwise, when an institution in its undergraduate admission review process sorts or is required to sort applicants by high school graduating class rank, the institution shall place any applicant who presents evidence that the applicant has successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education that does not include a high school graduating class ranking at the average high school graduating class rank of undergraduate applicants to the institution who have equivalent standardized testing scores as the applicant.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, with respect to admission into the institution or any program within the institution, with respect to scholarship programs, and with respect to other terms and conditions, and in complying with this Act, an institution may not treat an applicant who has successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education that does not include a high school graduating class ranking differently than an applicant who graduated from an accredited public school.

Section 30. Admission for child of fallen police officer, firefighter, or Department of Corrections employee. Each institution shall admit an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant:

(1) is the child of a police officer or firefighter employed by or in the voluntary service of this State or any local public entity in this State who was killed or sustained a fatal injury in the line of duty or is the child of an employee of the Department of Corrections who was assigned to a security position with the Department with responsibility for inmates of a correctional institution under the jurisdiction of the Department and who was killed or sustained a fatal injury in the line of duty;

(2) meets the minimum requirements, if any, established for purposes of this Section by the governing board of the institution for high school or prior college-level grade point average and performance on standardized tests; and

(3) satisfies the ACT college admission assessment or the SAT college admission assessment composite score and subscores required for admission to the institution to which the applicant applied as well as any composite scores or subscores for colleges within that institution.

Section 35. Additional preparation for college. After admitting an applicant under this Act, the institution shall review the applicant's record and any other factor the institution considers appropriate to determine whether the applicant may require additional preparation for college-level work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program. The institution may require a student so identified to enroll during the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this Act to participate in appropriate enrichment courses and orientation programs. This Act does not prohibit a student who is not determined to need additional preparation for college-level work from enrolling, if the student chooses, during the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this Act.

Section 40. Student outreach program. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission, by rule, shall develop and implement a program to increase and enhance the efforts of institutions in conducting outreach to academically high-performing high school seniors in this State who are likely to be eligible for automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act to provide to those students information and counseling regarding the operation of this Act and other opportunities, including financial assistance, available to those students for success at institutions.

Section 45. Fall or summer enrollment. An institution that admits, under this Act, an applicant qualified for automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act may admit the applicant for either the fall semester of the academic year for which the applicant applies or for the summer session preceding that fall semester, as determined by the institution.

Section 50. Admissions denial; reference to Act. If an institution denies admission to an applicant for an academic year, then, in any letter or other communication the institution provides to the applicant notifying the applicant of that denial, the institution may not reference the provisions of this Act, including using a description of a provision of this Act such as "the top 10% automatic admissions law", as a reason the institution is unable to offer admission to the applicant, unless the number of applicants for admission to the institution for that academic year who qualify for automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act is sufficient to fill 100% of the institution's enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students.

Section 90. Rules. The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission may adopt any rules necessary to implement this Act.

Section 95. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2025.