Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Removes language providing that: each State university shall report annually to the Board on programs of instruction, research, or public service that have been terminated, dissolved, reduced, or consolidated by the university, and all programs of instruction, research, and public service that exhibit a trend of low performance in enrollments, degree completions, and high expense per degree; and the Board shall compile an annual report that shall contain information on new programs created, existing programs that have been closed or consolidated, and programs that exhibit low performance or productivity. Instead, requires the Board to annually identify and provide to each public university certain programs of instruction that exhibit indicators of low performance in enrollment, degree completion, and relative high expense per degree, and for each public university to review such information and report annually to the Board with its proposed performance improvement plan for each identified program. Requires the Board to report annually on the instructional programs offered at public institutions of higher education, to show number, types, and locations of instructional programs, new programs created, existing programs that have been closed or consolidated as a result of the review and report above, and other information relevant to assessing the State's portfolio of programs. Requires the report to be submitted to the General Assembly and the Governor (not only the General Assembly). Amends the Private College Act. Provides that applications submitted to the Board of Higher Education shall contain a statement, among others, regarding the tuition schedule. For a disclosure regarding heightened monitoring of the institution's finances, requires the disclosure to be made, among others, by written notice to the Board. Amends the Academic Degree Act. Requires an educational organization or entity that awards degrees and qualifies for degree granting to maintain appropriate accreditation to provide educational programming. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
House Committee Amendment No. 1: Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Corrects grammatical, typographical, terminology, and formatting errors. Further amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Grants the Board of Higher Education the power and duty: to accept gifts, grants, or legacies from any source when made for higher education purposes; to create and participate in the conduct and operation of any corporation, joint venture, partnership, association, or other organizational entity that has the power (i) to acquire land, buildings, and other capital equipment for the use and benefit of higher education and students in the State; (ii) to accept gifts and make grants for the use and benefit of higher education and students in the State; (iii) to aid in the instruction and education of students in the State; and (iv) to promote activities to acquaint residents of the State with the facilities of the various institutions of higher education; and to distribute such other grants as may be authorized or appropriated by the General Assembly for which the Board may adopt any rules necessary for the purposes of implementing and distributing funds pursuant to an authorized or appropriated grant. Effective immediately.
Senate Committee Amendment No. 1: Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the engrossed bill, and makes the following changes: Restores current law to provide that the Board of Higher Education is authorized to review periodically all existing programs of instruction, research, and public service at the State universities and colleges. Provides that each public university shall report annually to the Board using a status rubric provided by the Board (rather than shall report annually to the Board with its proposed performance improvement plan for each identified program, using a rubric provided by the Board). Provides that the report must be submitted to the General Assembly and the Governor by March 15, 2026 and each March 15 thereafter. Makes stylistic changes. Effective immediately.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 110 ILCS 205/7, 110 ILCS 1005/3, 110 ILCS 1005/4, 110 ILCS 1010/5, 110 ILCS 1010/6
Engrossed: 110 ILCS 205/7, 110 ILCS 205/9, 110 ILCS 1005/3, 110 ILCS 1005/4, 110 ILCS 1010/5, 110 ILCS 1010/6
Enrolled: 110 ILCS 205/7, 110 ILCS 205/9, 110 ILCS 1005/3, 110 ILCS 1005/4, 110 ILCS 1010/5, 110 ILCS 1010/6