Lt. Governor urges House to pass transparency measure
SPRINGFIELD - May 16, 2013. Following its unanimous passage from the House Higher Education Committee, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon is encouraging the full House to pass House Joint Resolution 33. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Naomi Jakobsson (D-Urbana), urges all colleges and universities in the state to prominently feature a link to federal College Scorecard information on the school's website.
"A college credential is a prerequisite for in-demand jobs in our economy, but college affordability is a barrier for many students," said Simon, the state's point person on education reform. "Making it easier for college-seeking students to access the federal College Scorecard means vital information - like average cost and completion rates - is readily available to help students find a college or university that fits their needs and their budget."
In her first two years in office, Simon visited each of the state's 48 community colleges and 12 public universities. Students at each campus identified affordability as a major barrier to their college success. The College Scorecards clearly identify average costs, graduation rates, loan default rates, and areas where students can better estimate costs based on their personal goals.
HJR 33 not only encourages degree and certificate-granting institutions in Illinois to link to the federal College Scorecard, but also to work together across institutions to design and publish an Illinois College Scorecard with data that supplements the federal data. Simon intends to create a working group this summer to design the Illinois version.
"By making this information accessible and easy-to-understand, we demystify the costs of a higher education and move closer to enrolling and graduating more students," said Simon. "I thank Rep. Jakobsson for sponsoring this resolution and for her leadership on education issues."
The federal college scorecard can be found here.
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