Illinois Compiled Statutes 110 ILCS 205 Board of Higher Education Act. Section 9.29

    (110 ILCS 205/9.29)

    Sec. 9.29. Tuition and fee waiver report and task force.

    (a) The Board of Higher Education shall annually compile information concerning tuition and fee waivers and tuition and fee waiver programs that has been provided by the Boards of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University and shall report its findings and recommendations concerning tuition and fee waivers and tuition and fee waiver programs to the General Assembly by filing copies of its report by December 31 of each year as provided in Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act.

    (b) The General Assembly finds and declares (i) that the Board of Higher Education reports that in Fiscal Year 2011 public institutions of higher education awarded tuition and fee waivers totaling nearly $415 million; (ii) that 83.9% of these waivers were discretionary in that they were awarded at the discretion of each institution and valued at over $348 million; (iii) that the remaining 16.1% of waivers were mandatory in that institutions had to award the waivers by statute; and (iv) that because of the significant cost of such waivers, it is important to review, evaluate, and verify that these waivers are in the public interest and impose a reasonable financial impact upon higher education.

    There is hereby created the Tuition and Fee Waiver Task Force. The Task Force shall consist of the following members:

        (1) 2 members appointed by the President of the

    Senate;

        (2) 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House

    of Representatives;

        (3) 2 members appointed by the Minority Leader of

    the Senate; and

        (4) 2 members appointed by the Minority Leader of

    the House of Representatives.

    The President and Speaker shall designate one member each to serve as co-chairpersons of the Task Force. Members must be adults and residents of this State. The individual or his or her successor who appointed a member may remove that appointed member before the expiration of his or her term on the Task Force for official misconduct, incompetence, or neglect of duty. Members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for expenses. Appointments must be made within 60 calendar days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

    (c) The purpose of the Tuition and Fee Waiver Task Force is to conduct a thorough review and evaluation of the tuition and fee waiver programs offered by the public institutions of higher education listed in subsection (a) of this Section, as well as the findings and recommendations made by the Board concerning these programs pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section. The Task Force shall also thoroughly review and evaluate tuition and fee waiver programs offered by public institutions of higher education not listed in subsection (a) of this Section.

    The Task Force shall review and evaluate each of the tuition and fee waiver programs offered by public institutions of higher education and determine the propriety of each such program. As part of its review and evaluation, the Task Force shall, among other things, consider the following:

        (1) the institution's justification of the need for

    the program;

        (2) the program's intended purposes and goals;

        (3) the program's eligibility and selection criteria;

        (4) the program's costs;

        (5) the purported benefits resulting from the

    program; and

        (6) whether the program serves the public interest or

    advances a private interest.

    (d) The Board shall provide administrative support to the Tuition and Fee Waiver Task Force. The Task Force shall conduct meetings and public hearings before filing any report mandated under this subsection (d). At the public hearings, the Task Force shall allow interested persons to present their views and comments. The Task Force shall submit a report setting forth its review and evaluation of the tuition and fee waiver programs offered by public institutions of higher education on or before April 15, 2013 to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Board. Upon filing its reports, the Task Force is dissolved.

(Source: P.A. 97-772, eff. 7-11-12.)

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Last modified: February 18, 2015