The General Assembly and Governor Otto Kerner created the Board of Higher Education in 1961 to plan and coordinate Illinois' system of colleges and universities at a time when enrollments in post-secondary education were taking flight. The goal was to create an agency with the expertise, credibility, and statewide perspective to map an efficient and orderly course for the dramatic growth of higher education then underway.

The Board of Higher Education consists of sixteen members - ten appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Illinois Senate; one representative each of public universities, and private colleges and universities, also appointed by the Governor but not needing Senate approval; the chairs of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the Illinois Community College Board; and two student members chosen by the Student Advisory Committee, one of whom must be a nontraditional student.

PLANNING AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT

The Board of Higher Education's policy and planning responsibility is one of its key functions, which it carries out in a variety of ways, from ad hoc study committees and special task forces to initiatives of the Board's staff, based in Springfield.

In addition to The Illinois Commitment, other important planning activities of recent years have included: affordability, articulation, workforce preparation, underrepresented groups, undergraduate education, technology and distance learning, accountability and productivity, access and diversity, teacher preparation, and annual budget recommendations for all of higher education.

BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS

In fiscal year 2008, higher education institutions, agencies, and grant programs received $2.2 billion in state general funds, a decrease of $18.2 million, or 0.8 percent under fiscal year 2007 appropriations. When funding for the State Universities Retirement System is excluded, funding for higher education institutional operations and grants totals $2.2 billion, an increase of $45.8 million, or 2.1 percent over fiscal year 2007 appropriations.

The fiscal year 2008 budget includes a total of $1.4 billion in general funds support for public universities, an increase of $23.5 million, or 1.8 percent over fiscal year 2007.

The fiscal year 2008 budget includes a total of $381.1 million in general funds support for the Monetary Award Program (MAP), the state's needs-based student financial aid program. This represents an increase of $26.8 million over fiscal year 2007.

GRANTS PROGRAMS

The Board administers state and federal grant programs and receives funds for other initiatives. In all, FY2008 appropriations for grant programs totaled $34.3 million for a variety of programs and purposes related to the Board’s goals and priorities.

Grant programs for fiscal year 2008 include:

• education in the health services field
• development of the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois program
• professional development and training for teachers and principals
• access and diversity grants
• college work-study grants
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiatives
• efforts to expand access to higher education through the University Center of Lake County and the Quad Cities Graduate Study Center
  
  

PROGRAM REVIEW

The Board of Higher Education approves all new units of instruction, research, and public service, as well as new academic administrative units, for public colleges and universities in the state. The Board also undertakes periodic review of all existing units of instruction, research, and public service to advise the appropriate governing board whether such programs continue to be educationally and economically justified. Both of these activities are initiated at the campus or institutional level and reviewed by the appropriate governing board before being submitted to the Board staff for analysis and presentation to the Board of Higher Education.

Proposals for new programs and reviews of existing programs for public community colleges and public universities are analyzed in the context of the institution's mission, focus, and priorities. Budget and planning documents prepared by the colleges and universities are submitted annually to the Board of Higher Education and contain programmatic plans related to institutional objectives.

The Board of Higher Education also has statutory responsibility to approve operating authority and degree-granting authority for certain independent and out-of-state institutions operating within the state of Illinois. In addition, the Board must approve all new degree programs proposed by those independent institutions established or beginning to offer degrees after August 14, 1961.

Moreover, the Board carries out ongoing reviews of those independent institutions operating and offering degrees under the Board's authorization to assure that the institutions maintain the conditions under which the original authority to operate or grant degrees was given. The Board has the power to revoke its authorization if an institution fails to sustain the conditions required by the initial approval to operate or grant degrees.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Data collected and maintained by the Board, which has a statutory responsibility to establish a system of comprehensive, meaningful, and timely information about higher education, fall into three broad categories: ·

• demographic information about enrolled students and degree recipients
• faculty and staff information
• characteristics of individual colleges and universities.

The Board collects data through surveys mailed to public and private institutions; the Illinois Community College Board coordinates collection of information from and about public community colleges and supplies the appropriate data to the Board of Higher Education.

Student demographic data include age, gender, racial/ethnic group, enrollment status, major, type of degree being sought, and county and state of origin. Faculty and staff information include those demographic factors (age, race, gender) as well as academic rank and tenure status. Information about institutions includes price to students; library holdings; physical plant space and operations; revenue source; objects of expenditures; and academic unit and program costs, and faculty credit hour studies. In conjunction with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the Board collects data on student financial aid.

This information supports the Board's planning and budgeting activities, its responsibility for systematic program reviews, and its periodic studies of issues of special concern or interest. It also makes available to the higher education community and the public a host of vital data that help colleges and universities as well as state leaders as they shape policies affecting the significant role higher education plays in Illinois' economic, social, and cultural well-being. Examples of reports produced from the data and disseminated to the Illinois higher education community include: Data Book on Illinois Higher Education, enrollment reports, cost studies, and reports on female and minority employment and student participation in higher education. Data also are used to prepare reports such as the Annual Report on Public University Revenues and Expenditures in response to requests and legislative mandates from the office of the Governor and the General Assembly.

The Board also has initiated, in cooperation with public and private institutions, various "feedback" systems that provide useful information about the performance and progress of college students and the success and satisfaction of college graduates. The information is disseminated in annual statewide performance reports.