Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule was one of eight university leaders who signed a letter in support of a measure that aims to overhaul how public universities in Illinois are funded.
The measure that would create an evidence-based funding formula for higher education was approved in a House committee on Thursday. It creates a formula intended to make a more equitable funding system for higher education after years of underfunding, according to advocates. It would be a formula similar to the ones the state adopted for K-12 school districts in 2017.
The bill also boosts funding for higher education $135 million annually for the next 15 years.
House Republicans on the committee voted against the bill, suggesting that universities should look at other areas to cut costs and find ways to attract more students.
Tarhule and the other presidents said the funding in the proposal would provide "stable, predictable funding for every public university."
"That stability will help ease pressure on tuition, strengthen recruitment and enrollment, improve student outcomes, increase graduation rates, and grow economic investment — all of which will lead to a stronger, more successful Illinois," the statement read.
Christy Borders, a professor in the Illinois State University College of Education, testified before the committee on behalf of the University Professionals of Illinois union. Borders said ISU has seen record enrollment in recent years but is still in a financial crisis.
“Contrary to what some might believe, institutions cannot simply enroll our way out of this under funding issue,” Borders said.
Borders said ISU has had to make cuts to programs because of the lack of funding.
The measure failed to advance in the Senate last year, with heavy opposition from the University of Illinois System, which is opposed to the plan again.
Nicholas Jones, executive vice president of the University of Illinois System, said U of I supports evidence-based funding but wants to see changes to the proposed formula.
“Equity and adequacy are shared goals, but the proposed equitable funding legislation does not achieve equity or adequacy. Instead, it redistributes resources in ways that under-resource the state's strongest public universities,” Jones said.
The tight state budget this year only increased higher education funding by 1%, which educators say has not kept up with inflation.
U of I wants more funding for higher education in Illinois overall to avoid reductions in what it gets as other schools with bigger adequacy gaps would get more funding.
“In the event of flat or reduced funding, the negative impacts on the system are amplified dramatically, worsening inequities rather than addressing them,” Jones said.
Jones said since the U of I system represents three universities, and if one university has its funding cut it affects all universities in the system.
Borders noted every university would see a dollar amount increase, but some universities will see a smaller piece of the pie.
“It would be adequately and equally shared across the universities based on their need and their level of adequacy for funding,” Borders said.
Democratic State Rep. Sharon Chung, representing parts of Bloomington-Normal and Peoria, voted yes to advance the bill. The bill will now go to the full House for a vote.
