Illinois Community College Students Guaranteed Admission to In-State Public Universities

• A new Illinois law guarantees community college students admission to public four-year universities in the state.
• Students need at least a 3.0 GPA in order to be guaranteed transfer.
• Students also need to have earned a minimum of 36 transferable credits.
• The program will begin with the 2024-2025 school year.

Community college students in Illinois are now guaranteed admission to four-year public universities in the state if they meet certain requirements.

Under a newly enacted state law, four-year public universities will be required to guarantee student transfers to community college students, provided they meet certain requirements, starting with the 2024-2025 academic year.

"I believe that any student who grew up in Illinois should have the opportunity to attend one of our state's universities," state Sen. Paul Faraci (D), who sponsored the legislation, said in a press release. "This new law will give community college students a clear path to stay in-state."

The law will guarantee four-year public university admission to community college students if meet the following requirements:

• Graduate from an Illinois high school
• Earn a minimum of 36 graded, transferable semester hours by the time they apply to a university
• Have at least a 3.0 GPA in their transferable coursework
• Satisfy the university's English language proficiency requirement

Community college students, particularly those from historically underserved backgrounds, often face barriers to transferring to four-year universities. But students who successfully transfer to four-year universities often thrive, even at highly selective institutions. Partnership pipelines to boost transfers to four-year universities can help students get a bachelor's degree, BestColleges previously reported.

The new law is only the latest move in Illinois to bolster access to higher education. State legislators last year increased the state's Monetary Award Program (MAP) by $100 million as proposed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Illinois Student Assistance Commission Executive Director Eric Zarnikow said in a press release that the increase, bringing the MAP appropriation to an all-time high of $701 million, would mean the award would cover 60% of average tuition and fees at a community college and 51% at one of the state's public universities.

"This funding, in combination with increases to AIM HIGH (the Aspirational Institutional Match Helping Illinois Grow Higher Education grant program), our teacher scholarships, and other programs, will create what could be life-changing opportunities for many Illinoisans striving to reach their educational and career goals, and will help ensure that we meet workforce needs with skilled professionals that reflect the diversity of this state," Zarnikow said.