News Release

Contact:

Jonathan Lackland
217.557.7334
lackland@ibhe.org

        Candace Mueller
217.557.7354
mueller@ibhe.org

August 2, 2012

The One-Year Plan

IBHE staff reports on how it is accomplishing the goals of the Illinois Public Agenda for College and Career Success

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) meeting will highlight initiatives that the staff has been working on during the past year designed to close the educational and prosperity achievement gap and increase college readiness. This meeting will take place at 1:00 p.m., on August 7, 2012, on the campus of Chicago State University. The staff’s reports will concentrate in the following five areas.

1. The development of philanthropic resources to assist college dropouts with retention, persistence, and completion of certificate or degree programs.
   
   
2. The assumption of IBHE responsibility for Private Business and Vocational Schools.
   
   
3. The effort to refine the Performance Funding Model in preparation for the FY2014 Budget Submission.
   
   
4. The building of an IBHE brand through professional brochures, an agency logo, motto, and other symbols.
   
   
5. A state accountability report for Goal 3 of the Illinois Public Agenda using the performance measures and benchmarks.
   

“As we accomplish the Illinois Public Agenda, we will reduce the existing achievement gap that has created two states of Illinois, one fairly affluent and the other mostly poor,” Carrie J. Hightman, IBHE Chairwoman, stated. “The progress being made by the staff internally, called ‘The Number One Agenda,’ brings us one step closer to eradicating that gap and creating pathways to more success for all Illinoisans.”

“We are excited about the progress being made on ‘The Number One Agenda’,” IBHE Executive Director George Reid said. “The staff and the Board remain committed to the elimination of educational disparities in Illinois through the implementation of the Public Agenda.”

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