Illinois Postsecondary Investments - Lumina Foundation

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Illinois Postsecondary InvestmentsMay 2017Nearly 10 years ago, the Illinois Board of Higher Education adopted The Public Agenda forCollege and Career Success. The Public Agenda recognized that, in order for Illinois to prosper,effective and quality education must be available for all residents. The Public Agenda is focusedon four goals: (1) Increasing educational attainment, especially by closing disparities inachievement by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geographic location; (2) ensuringaffordability; (3) increasing the number of credentials to meet economic demands; and (4)better integrating educational, research and innovation assets to meet the economic needs ofthe state and its regions.1 Having a focused and strategic approach to financing higher educationis imperative to meeting these goals. However, the current lack of a state budget and lack of abroad stakeholder focus on the goals of the Public Agenda, as well as declines in state fundingover the last several years, present challenges to meeting the goals.To understand the present mix of Illinois higher education finance policies, it is important toexamine historical policies and their underlying intent, implementation and effects. This briefstarts with an overview of this historical context and funding trends. The second sectionexamines changes in spending patterns over the last decade. The final section leads into ananalysis of state trends that could inform the development of a durable investment frameworkthat is placed in the context of the state attainment goal and the real needs of localcommunities and employers.Part I: Historical Policies and Funding TrendsExamining the historical finance policies and trends that undergird Illinois’ higher educationsystem is essential to understanding the current climate around Illinois’ higher educationfinance. These include changes to the structure of higher education, institutional appropriationpolicies, funding, enrollment, and award trends, tuition and fees, financial aid and the state’sattainment goal.Higher Education StructureHistorically, higher education in Illinois was a loose confederation of systems with functionscoordinated by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). This “system of systems” includedfour university boards, the community college system, private nonprofit institutions and privatefor-profit institutions. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), created in 1957, wascharged with making higher education accessible and affordable for Illinois students.1Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2009StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org1

University Sector: Four Boards, 12 InstitutionsPrior to 1996, the university sector consisted of four university boards representing 12institutions: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, with campuses in UrbanaChampaign and Chicago;The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees, with campuses in Carbondale andEdwardsville;The Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities (1941-1996), including atthe time of its abolishment Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University,Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University and Western IllinoisUniversity;2 andThe Board of Regents (1967-1996), including Illinois State University, NorthernIllinois University and Sangamon State University.3Community CollegesThe origin of the community college system dates to 1901, when Joliet Junior College wasestablished as the first public junior college in the nation.4 Illinois junior colleges proliferated inthe first half of the 20th century as part of public school districts. Gradually, they becameintegrated with the higher education system. The state began providing direct aid to junior colleges in 1955 to encourage thedevelopment of new institutions.The Junior College Act of 1965 created the Illinois State Junior College Board andplaced the colleges and the board under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Board ofHigher Education.5In the 1970s the Junior College Board was renamed the Illinois Community CollegeBoard, many junior colleges were renamed community colleges, special assistanceequalization grants to equalize local tax revenue per student were introduced, and astate funding formula designed to calculate the resource requirements for allinstructional credit and public service non-credit programs was developed.6Traditionally, individual community colleges have worked with local employers todevelop needed training programs. Recent efforts by the system have included astatewide, regional planning process with local communities to identify employerneeds and coordination with the Department of Commerce and EconomicOpportunity.2Board of Governors of State Colleges and UniversitiesBoard of Regents - RG 4754Joliet Junior College: About, 20175Smith, 19806Smith, 19803StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org2

Illinois Board of Higher EducationThe Illinois Board of Higher Education was created by the legislature in 1961 to coordinate theoperations of the various colleges and universities during a time of increasing enrollment. Theboard was granted statutory responsibilities to plan and develop policy, administer state andfederal grants, make operating and capital budget recommendations, and establish a datasystem tracking students and degree recipients, faculty and staff information, andcharacteristics of individual colleges and universities.7 IBHE has historically spearheaded masterplans that establish goals and priorities for the system and guide the development of policyinitiatives, planning and budget recommendations. The priorities reflected through these effortshave shifted over time to address various eras and responses to state needs.1960s and 1970s: The initial focus and priority of IBHE was to expand capacity of thesystem to meet increasing enrollment demands. During this time: The state community college system was created in 1965;The 1969 master plan established Governors State University and Sangamon StateUniversity;A medical education study conducted by IBHE in the late 1960s led to the statewideexpansion of medical schools, including the creation of the Southern Illinois MedicalCenter in Springfield, the expansion of the University of Illinois medical programs inPeoria, Rockford and Champaign, and the growth of private medical schools, amongother initiatives. This resulted in health care decentralization and an increasingnumber of physicians in previously underserved downstate Illinois;IBHE increased collaboration with private universities by allowing them toparticipate in planning initiatives and by providing private institutions grants of 100for lower-division students and 200 for upper-division students; andThe state’s financial aid system was modified to become more focused on needbased aid.1980s and early 1990s: The focus shifted to addressing evolving public policy prioritiessuch as improving minority student achievement, workforce preparation,undergraduate education, affordability, productivity and accountability. The most visibleexample of this focus was the 1991 Priorities, Quality, and Productivity Initiative, orPQP. PQP identified 25 guidelines for improving productivity in five broad areas:instruction, research and public service, academics, administration and statewideproductivity. As a result of PQP:7Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2017StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org3

Illinois institutions reallocated hundreds of millions of dollars in areas such asundergraduate education, salary competitiveness, minority student achievement,technology enhancements, deferred maintenance and library support;8Almost 300 university programs and 335 community college programs wereeliminated, reduced or consolidated;9 andState leaders invested in PQP, fully funding IBHE’s operating budgetrecommendations from 1995 through 1999 and, overall, increasing support forhigher education in the 1990s at a rate approximately 26 percent higher than thenational average.101995 Restructuring: After nearly three decades of operating with the “system ofsystems,” the state legislature and Gov. Jim Edgar decided to end the governancestructure with the goal of giving institutions greater autonomy and reducingadministrative costs.11 The Higher Education Reorganization Act of 1995 eliminated theBoard of Governors and the Board of Regents and gave individual boards to the sevenuniversities not part of the University of Illinois or Southern Illinois University systems.12Over time, the restructuring has widely been seen as weakening the influence of IBHE,making it more difficult for IBHE to establish statewide goals and to allocate resourcesstrategically.13 As a result:The diffused power of the new arrangement made it difficult for IBHE to act as a politicalbuffer, essentially creating an “every university for itself” environment; IBHE was forced to cede tuition control to the university boards. Prior torestructuring, tuition revenue had been held by the state treasurer. While thetuition revenue was not directly reallocated from one institution to another, IBHEhistorically could adjust state appropriation requests to account for majordifferences in total revenue. After restructuring, the individual boards were grantedauthority to set tuition without involvement of IBHE, the legislature or the governor;IBHE’s influence with the governor and legislature weakened, particularly withrespect to budget recommendations; andThe weakening of IBHE was followed by declines in higher education performance,including decreases in the rate of high school students participating in highereducation, a declining focus on need-based aid and affordability, and, initially, a8Wallhaus, 1996MacTaggart & Mingle, 200210MacTaggart & Mingle, 200211Perna, Finney, & Callan, 2011121995 Illinois Statutes, 110 ILCS 20513Perna, Finney, & Callan, 20119StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org4

failure to make progress on closing achievement gaps.14 Importantly, the last publicagenda developed by IBHE dates to 2008.Institutional Appropriation PoliciesHistorically, the IBHE budget recommendations to the governor and General Assembly foruniversity operating funds have not been based on any predetermined standard or formula.Instead, appropriation requests have been based on institutions’ existing share of state fundswith the justification for new funding derived from a combination of factors such as supportinggoals of master plans, salary support, new facility operations and maintenance funding,increases in energy costs, and new program requests.15 From the late 1960s to the early 2000s,IBHE also made slight adjustments to its recommendations if universities’ instructional costs,measured by average weighted credit hour, were above or below the statewide mean.16Community college appropriations have primarily been distributed by the Illinois CommunityCollege Board (ICCB) through two formula-driven grant programs:17 Base operating grants: Comprise approximately two-thirds of ICCB’s operatinggrants, and are determined by multiplying each community college’s reimbursableunrestricted credit hours by the per-credit-hour rate in six funding categories(Baccalaureate, Business, Technical, Health, Remedial and Adult Education);18 andEqualization grants: Currently account for over a quarter of ICCB operating grants,and are meant to reduce the disparity in local property tax funds available perstudent, thereby ensuring that colleges with a limited local tax base have access tothe funds necessary to support educational programs.19 Any community collegedistrict below an expected local property tax threshold is eligible for tax-baseequalization funding. However, these grants have been funded at a fraction of theirintended amounts in recent years.Beginning with fiscal year 2013, IBHE budget recommendations have been required to includemetrics designed to allocate state resources to public universities and community colleges basedupon performance in achieving state goals related to student success and certificate and degreecompletion.20,2114Perna, Finney, & Callan, 2011Higher Education Finance Study Commission, 201016Illinois Board of Higher Education, 201617Higher Education Finance Study Commission, 201018Illinois Board of Higher Education19Illinois Board of Higher Education20Illinois Board of Higher Education, 201721Illinois Public Act 097-032015StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org5

The university performance funding model distributes 0.5 percent of total annual stateappropriations based on universities’ degree production, research and public serviceexpenditures, student persistence, and efficiency. These measures are weighted according to aninstitution’s mission, and premiums are included for low-income, adult, Hispanic, black, STEM Hstudents.22 The model has not been utilized since 2014.The community college performance funding model has six metrics: degree and certificatecompletion, degree and certificate completion of at-risk students, transfer to a four-yearinstitution, remedial and adult education advancement, momentum points, and transfers.Annually, 360,000 – or roughly 0.1 percent of community college state appropriations – is splitamong the six metrics, with the community colleges’ performance defined by the year to yearchange in each metric.23Funding, Enrollment and Award TrendsState Appropriations: State appropriations for higher education have suffered due to Illinois’fiscal condition in recent years. From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2015, state operatingappropriations for universities, community colleges, ISAC and other grants have decreased 987million, or 34 percent, after adjusting for inflation. This decline has been driven primarily byincreasing pension obligations (after years of missed payments by the legislature) crowding outother state spending. As of March 2017, the institutions were operating without any statefunding due to the budget impasse.2223Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2015Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2015StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org6

Total State and Local Funding for Illinois Public Higher Education2015 Dollars 2,500,000Public UniversitiesCommunity Colleges/w Adult Ed.Community Colleges (Local Funds)IL Student Assistance CommissionGrants/AgenciesState University Retirement System PaymentsIn Thousands 2,000,000 416% 1,500,000-34% 1,000,000 33% 500,000-29%-18%-81% -FY00 FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15During this time, enrollment remained relatively stable in the public university sector.Community college enrollment fluctuated more than the universities, with increases followingdownturns in the economy.StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org7

Fall Full-Time Equivalent EnrollmentIllinois Public Universities and Community State Funding Peak for University,Community College, and MAPAppropriations After Adjusting ,949150,000100,000Community CollegesUniversities50,0002000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 201524 Community college full-time equivalent enrollment in fall 2015 was 7 percentlower than fall 2000 and 18 percent lower than the peak in fall 2009.University full-time equivalent enrollment was virtually the same in fall 2015and fall 2000. University enrollment decreased 6 percent from the peak in 2010.Degrees and certificates have been increasing in both sectors despite stagnant or decreasingenrollment.24National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data SystemStrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org8

Illinois Public University and Community College Degrees 034,92130,00022,44920,000University Degrees (All Levels)Community College Associates12,28310,000Community College Certificates2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total university degrees increased 13 percent from 2000 to 2015, with a slight diptowards the end of this period.Community college associate degrees increased 56 percent from 2000 to 2015 whilecertificates grew by 188 percent.This increase in awards also occurred as state appropriations were being reduced, resulting infewer appropriations per completion in both sectors.StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org9

Appropriations per Completion2015 Dollars 50,000 45,000 42,617 40,000 35,000 30,670 30,000 24,843 25,000 20,000 16,420 15,000 10,000State Appropriations per University DegreesState and Local Appropriations per Community College Awards 5,000 -2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total combined community college state and local appropriations increasedeight percent from 2000 to 2015. Underlying this was a 31 percent decrease instate general funds (excluding funds for adult education) and a 33 percentincrease in local revenues.The change in funding, coupled with the increase in awards, led to a 46 percentreduction in state and local appropriations per total community college awardsfrom 2000 to 2015.Total university appropriations decreased 34 percent from 2000 to 2015.The decrease in appropriations and the increase in degrees led to a 42 percentdecrease in appropriations per degree from 2000 to 2015.Pressures on Higher Education FinancesState University Retirement System: Currently, the State University Retirement System (SURS)has an estimated unfunded liability of 23.7 billion. Funding this liability is the biggest factorinfluencing the decline in state higher education appropriations. Since 1996, the state has notappropriated funds directly to the universities to cover pension obligations. Instead, the statemakes an on-behalf payment to SURS. These on-behalf pension payments have increaseddramatically in the last 15 years due to the need to provide funding for current obligations andmake up for the underfunding in the 1990s.StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org10

State Pension Funding to SURS Compared toHigher Education System Funding,Fiscal Years 2000-2015, 2015 Dollars 3,500,000Retirement System Funding (SURS)Operations Funding 3,000,000In Thousands 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY FY2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 In fiscal year 2000, the state paid 218 million to SURS. This was equal to tenpercent of higher education operations funding.By fiscal year 2015, the SURS payment had increased to 1.5 billion, theequivalent of 80 percent of operations funding.Adjusted for inflation, this was a 416 percent increase in SURS funding and a 34percent decrease in operations funding.Over 70 percent, or 1.08 billion, of the 2015 SURS funding was for liabilitiesfrom past years.Health Care: Increasing health insurance costs have been another major factor crowding outstate funding that could otherwise be utilized for the core functions of higher education.Additionally, the health care cost-sharing agreement between the universities and the state isfurther pressuring institutions’ budgets. The majority of health care costs are paid on behalf ofthe universities by the Department of Central Management Services (CMS). Universityemployees constitute roughly 43 percent of the total State Group Health enrollment. Annually,these payments have been significant.StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org11

FY 2015 Group Insurance Payments by University System (in thousands)University SystemOn-Behalf (CMS)University ReimbursementU of I 515,947 01,024GSU16,171656Total 936,047 44,999 In fiscal year 2015, over 936 million was paid by CMS on behalf of health carecosts for university employees and annuitants.25 This was a 56 percent increasefrom eight years earlier.For the last decade, universities have agreed to share this cost by usingoperating funds to reimburse the state roughly 45 million per year.26Group insurance payments are not made on behalf of the community colleges.The Community College Employee Health Insurance for current employees ispaid by the community college system using revenue from various sources,including state and local revenues.Deferred Maintenance: Institutions’ operating funds have been further pressured by increases indeferred maintenance costs. Much of the state’s higher education infrastructure was built in themiddle of the last century in response to the coming of age of the baby boom generation. Thecost of repairs and routine maintenance has increased significantly as these facilities have aged,although it is not clear how many of the estimated repairs have already been paid for byinstitutions and how many are still in queue.2526Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2016Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2016StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org12

Total Public Higher Education Deferred Maintenance Estimates2016 Dollars 4,500 4,000 3,500In millions 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016Public UniversitiesCommunity Colleges From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2016, the estimated cost of deferredmaintenance projects increased 142 percent, after adjusting for inflation, to 4.1 billion.To compound this problem, the state has not had a capital budget since 2010.Instead, institutions have had to reallocate a larger share of state appropriationsand tuition revenue to make the inevitable repairs and updates to campusbuildings.27Tuition and FeesTuition and fees have steadily risen in Illinois for close to three decades. These increases havebeen driven by a combination of factors and have important implications for the state’saffordability, attainment and equity priorities. Without corresponding increases in state orinstitutional need-based financial aid, these increases in tuition and fees make it much less likelylow-income students can afford to attain a college degree.27Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2016StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org13

Possible Factors Driving Tuition Increases State Appropriation Reductions: The main driver increasing tuition has been thereduction in state appropriations, primarily due to the pension obligations.Historically, state appropriations have been used to subsidize in-state studentsand keep their tuition low. As state appropriations have decreased, incomefunds from tuition have increased to make up for the declining revenue. System Restructuring: Prior to the 1995 reorganization of the “systems ofsystems,” individual university boards set tuition but revenue went to the statetreasurer. Post restructuring, individual public universities were permitted toretain the revenue they raised. This allowed them to set their own tuitionwithout the involvement of the governor, the legislature or the Illinois Board ofHigher Education.28 2004 Truth in Tuition Act: Intended to promote affordability, the act requirespublic universities to charge incoming resident freshmen a fixed tuition rate forall four years of college.29 There is some evidence that this policy has led tofaster tuition increases than would have otherwise occurred.30 Under thistheory, institutions have the incentive to frontload tuition to ensure revenuestability over the four years of the fixed rate. High Tuition/High Aid Policies: Many universities have begun charging highertuition “sticker prices” while simultaneously using the increased revenue toprovide more institutional financial aid. Institutional aid, represented byinstitutional grants from unrestricted sources and discounts and allowancesapplied to tuition and fees, increased 158 percent for Illinois public universitiesand 106 percent for community colleges from 2005 to 2015, after adjusting forinflation.28Perna, Finney, & Callan, 2011Illinois Public Act 093-022830Delaney & Kearney, 201529StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org14

Weighted Annual Mean Tuition and Fees by Sector2016 Dollars 40,000 34,137 35,000Public University 30,000Public 2-Year 25,000Private Not-for-Profit 20,000 15,000Restructuring 14,535Truth in Tuition 12,170 10,000 3,980 5,000 3,083 7200820092010201120122013201420152016 -Private Not-for-Profit includes private 2 year institutions after 201331 3132In the 16 years from 1984 to 2000, the weighted annual mean tuition and feesfor the public university sector increased 2,716, or 88 percent. In the 16 yearsfrom 2000 to 2016, the weighted annual mean tuition and fees increased 8,737, or 151 percent, although the increases have differed by institution.Illinois’ 2016-17 average public university in-state tuition and fees were the fifthhighest in the country, behind only New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania andNew Jersey.32In the 16 years from 1984 to 2000, the weighted annual mean tuition and feesfor the community colleges increased 570, or 35 percent. In the 16 years from2000 to 2016, the weighted annual mean tuition and fees increased 1,783, or81 percent.Illinois’ 2016-17 in-district community college tuition and fees were the 28thhighest in the country and slightly below the national average of 4,069.33Illinois Student Assistance CommissionCollege Board, 2016StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org15

Tuition Trends at Public UniversitiesSince 1990, decreases in university state appropriations have been made up in large part bystudents, in the form of increased university tuition and fees.Public University State Appropriations and Income Funds per FallFTE Enrollment1990-2015, 2015 Dollars 18,000Income Funds 16,000 16,053State General Funds 14,000 12,447 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 - 33In 1990, the state provided the universities with 9,587 per FTE student, incurrent dollars. By 2015, this had fallen 35 percent to 6,215.Concurrently, university income funds (primarily tuition and fees) per FTEstudent increased almost 7,000.Together, revenue from state appropriations and income funds per FTE studentincreased 3,606, or 29 percent, in constant dollars. Much of this increase hasbeen used to support growth in institution-provided student aid and theoperations and maintenance of the campuses. That will be explored furtherlater in this analysis.College Board, 2016StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org16

The current uncertainty surrounding the state budget may provide an incentiveto universities to increase tuition in an attempt to stabilize institutional funding.The decreases in state funding since the recession have been more severe than in surroundingstates. The resulting tuition increases have been somewhat less severe, but significant.State Funding for Higher Education Below Pre-Recession Levels - riOhioWisconsin% Change inState Fundingper Student-54.0%34-5.8%-20.9%-14.8%-22.2%-15.2%3.3% Change inSpending perStudent( 3,479)( 438)( 1,233)( 1,351)( 1,577)( 1,051) 215% Tuition ChangePublic Four-YearColleges26.8%16.0%23.4%21.5%9.5%5.4%20.3% Change in TuitionPublic Four-YearColleges 2,7881,2612,2761,9187405231,48535Tuition Trends at Public Community CollegesIllinois community colleges have three main sources of revenue: state general funds, tuitionrevenue and, unlike universities, local tax revenue. Traditionally, each source was intended tomake up one-third of total revenue. Community college state appropriations per FTE studenthave declined since 1990, although not as severely as universities.34Figures in the table were compiled using the Center on Budget and Policy (CBPP) Report, Funding Down,Tuition Up. For a full description of CBPP's methodology, please see their full report. The calculations forIllinois are based on a fiscal year 2016 appropriation figure including funding provided in the April 2016appropriations bill, and two-thirds of funding provided in the June 2016 stopgap budget. Other sourcesthat have analyzed Illinois' higher education funding level for 2016 may differ due the irregularity of thatyear’s budget. For the purposes of this analysis, we use CBPP estimates to be able to compare Illinois withneighboring states using the same source and methodology.35Mitchell, Leachman, & Masterson, 2016StrategyLabs.LuminaFoundation.org17

Public Community CollegesState General Funds, Local Tax Revenue, and Tuition andFee Revenue per Fall FTE Enrollment1990-2015; 2015 Dollars 7,000 6,000 5,833Tuition and Fee RevenueLocal Revenue 5,000 4,000State General Funds (no adult ed) 3,493 3,000 2,000 1,000 1990 -Appropriations per FTE student in 2015 were 381, or 31 percent, lower than 1990levels, after adjusting for inflation.At the system level, this decline in revenue was more than made up for by tuitionand local tax revenue. Tuition revenue per FTE student increased 1,491, or 164percent, over this same period, and local tax revenue per FTE student increased 1,230, or 91 percent. This varies by institution.These increases have led to changes in the community colleges’ mix of revenue. In1990, 35 percent was from state general funds, 39 percent from local tax revenue,and 26 percent from tuition and fee revenue. By 2015, these percentages were 15percent, 44 percent and 41 percent, respectively, far from the intention of one-thirdfrom each source.As with the universities, the current uncertainty surrounding the state budget mayspur community colleges to increase tuition to stabilize institutional funding.Financial AidThe Illinois Student Assistance Commission has traditionally managed several grant andscholarship programs focused on promoting the affordability of Illinois higher education. Thelargest program has always been the need-base

The Board of Regents (1967-1996), including Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University and Sangamon State University.3 Community Colleges The origin of the community college system dates to 1901, when Joliet Junior College was established as the first public junior college in the nation.4 Illinois junior colleges proliferated in .

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