Bill Text: IL SJR0022 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board to jointly identify any shortcomings in attaining the goals of Public Act 99-636 that the General Education Core Curriculum courses transfer between institutions with full credit towards a baccalaureate degree.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 7-1)

Status: (Passed) 2019-06-01 - Adopted Both Houses [SJR0022 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SJR0022-Introduced.html

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, In 1993, the Illinois Board of Higher Education,
the Illinois Community College Board, and the Transfer
Coordinators of Illinois Colleges and Universities brought
together faculty from public and independent, associate and
baccalaureate degree-granting institutions across the state to
develop the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI); and
WHEREAS, The goal of IAI is to facilitate the transfer of
courses from one participating college or university to another
in order to complete a baccalaureate degree; the three key
concepts providing the underlying foundation for IAI are: (1)
that "associate and baccalaureate degree-granting institutions
are equal partners" in educating college freshmen and
sophomores, (2) that "faculties should take primary
responsibility for developing and maintaining program and
course articulation", and (3) that "institutions are expected
to work together to assure that lower-division baccalaureate
programs are comparable in scope, quality, and academic rigor";
and
WHEREAS, Today's college students can get the degree they
desire, close to home, and with the assurance of a successful
career right here in Illinois; and

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WHEREAS, Cutting-edge academic programs, such as
iTransfer.org and MyCreditsTransfer, are available to serve
recent high school graduates and those who are balancing their
education with working, parenting, and service to our country;
and
WHEREAS, While Illinois is a leading state for college
completion rates for adult learners and transfer students from
community colleges, Illinois needs to increase the number of
high-quality postsecondary credentials to meet the demands of
the economy and an increasingly global society; and
WHEREAS, With the rising costs of higher education for
Illinois students and families, the State needs to ensure that
the General Education Core Curriculum courses Illinois
residents enroll in at higher education institutions and as a
part of dual credit in high school in Illinois will transfer
with full credit for the student and be accepted at an Illinois
public or private institution as they pursue a baccalaureate
degree; and
WHEREAS, Illinois can do this by improving transitions all
along the education pipeline; for postsecondary education,
this means strengthening articulation through stable funding
and the expansion of transfer tools, such as Transferology and
the IAI through development of an objective measure of transfer

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and acceptance of credits; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Board of Higher Education and the
Illinois Community College Board jointly identify any
shortcomings in attaining the goals of Public Act 99-636 that
the General Education Core Curriculum courses transfer between
institutions with full credit towards a baccalaureate degree;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That we direct each four-year institution within
the IAI to review the transfer credits of all incoming transfer
students at its institution to find any instances where courses
are not deemed transferable with full credit, including those
courses that serve as prerequisites within a major; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we direct each public institution that
participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative to work
with the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois
Community College Board to assure their compliance with the law
that their General Education Core curricula: (1) are aligned
with the IAI course codes, (2) accept, with full credit, toward
a baccalaureate degree any courses students have taken in the
General Education Core Curriculum Package for other public

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institutions in Illinois, (3) do not require transferring
students to retake general education as prerequisites core
curriculum courses that were part of the IAI curriculum
packages, or take additional general education courses beyond
the package, and (4) the course numbering systems at each
institution adequately reflect the corresponding course codes
used by the Illinois Articulation Initiative; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we direct the Illinois Board of Higher
Education and the Illinois Community College Board to work with
the Illinois State Board of Education and each institution to
educate and inform high school counselors across the State on
the workings of the IAI and the General Education Core
Curriculum and its course transferability processes and
procedures; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we direct the Illinois Board of Higher
Education and the Illinois Community College Board to develop a
report on the results of this review of the Illinois
Articulation Initiative and recommend to the Governor and the
General Assembly any actions necessary to achieve the stated
goals of this resolution by January 9, 2020.