By Michael T. Nietzel Senior Contributor
Illinois becomes the latest state to authorize a direct college admissions program at its public … More institutions.
Illinois has become the latest state to create a direct college admissions program at its public universities. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 3522, which creates the Public University Direct Admission Program Act, into law on June 30.
Sponsored by Representative Katie Stuart and Senator Christopher Belt, HB 3522 passed with overwhelming support in the Illinois legislature. It will help streamline the college admissions process as well as reduce application fees for Illinois families.
Similar to programs in other states, public universities and community colleges in Illinois will offer automatic admission directly to resident students based on their grade point average. Here鈥檚 how it will work.
Students who choose to participate in the direct admissions program will have their contact information and academic information 鈥 including email addresses and GPAs 鈥 sent to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission by their high schools and community colleges.
The commission will use the admission criteria of each institution to determine the universities where the student meets the qualifications for admission.
Students will be notified of their admission offers to Illinois community colleges and public universities in one message. Public universities and community colleges may also directly inform admitted students.
After receiving an offer, students will be instructed on how to accept admission and enroll at the institution of their choice.
Governor Pritzker praised HB 3522 and other higher education access bills that were passed in the most recent legislative session.
鈥淭hese bills streamline the application process for college-bound seniors in Illinois, enhance support for applicants, and open up new horizons for prospective students,鈥 Pritzker said in a statement. 鈥淓nacting these laws is what all government work should be about 鈥 making life easier for our people.鈥
The program is scheduled to begin in the 2027-28 school year. Nine of the state鈥檚 11 four-year, public universities are participating, including:
University of Illinois Springfield
Southern Illinois University
Chicago State University
Eastern Illinois University
Governors State University
Illinois State University
Northeastern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Western Illinois University
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago are not taking part in the new program. However, the bill also created a preselection access and outreach campaign to encourage qualifying high school juniors and seniors to apply to those institutions through traditional means.
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鈥淔or eligible seniors and community college transfer students, you will receive offers from the schools that you are admitted to without raising a finger. That鈥檚 huge,鈥 said Senator Belt. 鈥淚t takes away the anxiety, it takes away the angst of that whole process.鈥
Idaho was one of the first states to introduce a direct college admissions program, rolling it out in 2015. Initial evaluations show that it yielded an increase in first-time undergraduate enrollments by more than 8% and in-state student enrollments by almost 12%.
Since then, private companies and at least a dozen states have jumped into the direct admissions business. The Common Application (Common App) piloted a direct admissions program since 2021, offering admission to students who created a Common App account and provided enough academic information but had not yet completed all of their open applications. It has since expanded the program.
Other companies, like Niche, Concourse and SAGE Scholars have also entered the market, and an increasing number of colleges have come on board.
A recent evaluation of direct admissions in Minnesota found that students who participated in that program had a higher rate of enrolling in a Minnesota college as well as a higher rate of completing the FAFSA, a key indicator for whether a student will begin a college education.
During the 2023-24 school year, 76% of students attending a direct admissions high school in Minnesota filed a FAFSA, compared to a 50% completion rate among all of the state鈥檚 graduating seniors. In addition, 46% of students at participating high schools enrolled in a Minnesota college after graduation, compared to 28% of non-participating 12th grade students.
Representative Stuart said that the new program will offer “amazing new opportunities to students who may not have known that higher education is an option for them and that it’s an option right here in their home state. Through this program, we are easing the stressful college application process for our students and encouraging them to continue their education at one of the many great public universities in Illinois.”
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