Despite improvements in high school graduation rates and college enrollment rates for Illinois students, disparities in degree completion rates are often 10 to 20 percentage points and sometimes as high as 30 to 35 percentage points among students when disaggregating by race, household wealth or income. Our colleges and universities have not served all students equitably. However, Illinois and its institutions are increasingly prioritizing and investing in higher education equity.

What is the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative (ILEA)?

In October 2018, the Partnership launched the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative (ILEA), our signature effort to galvanize direct and urgent action with a group of two-year and four-year, public and private non-profit colleges and universities across the state. These 25 institutions publicly commit to the PCC’s goal to eliminate racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps by 2025 and aggressively prioritize increasing completion rates on their campuses.

Download Fact Sheet2020 Equity Plans

ILEA Core Beliefs

Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative (ILEA) member institutions subscribe to a core set of beliefs that are foundational to how PCC understands its role in addressing the college completion crisis on Illinois’ campuses. ILEA colleges and universities believe:

  • Colleges and universities are responsible for graduating all degree-seeking students efficiently, and consistent with supporting students’ short- and long-term goals
  • All college students can graduate with the right information, tools, and supports
  • Racial and socioeconomic completion disparities are unacceptable and should be eliminated with urgency
  • Solutions and resources exist to close the equity gaps in higher education
  • The actions that colleges take or fail to take as it relates to student persistence and completion matters to students’ overall trajectory in college

ILEA College & University Commitments

In order to build a strong learning community focused on ensuring all students are reaching their attainment goals, and that these efforts are happening comprehensively across ILEA institutions with a sense of urgency, ILEA partner institutions have made the following commitments to impact collective student success:

  • Publicly commit to eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities in degree completion, thereby increasing overall graduation rates
  • Undertake these efforts in partnership with PCC without sacrificing quality and excellence or raising admissions standards
  • Dedicate a senior team of committed faculty and staff to this effort
  • Set annual growth targets & annually report progress to PCC
  • Work with PCC to develop a comprehensive, college-specific Equity Plan to achieve targets
  • Implement and scale effective, evidence-based practices
  • Share findings in communities of practice and other forums

ILEA Colleges and Universities

  1. Blackburn College
  2. Chicago State University
  3. College of DuPage
  4. College of Lake County
  5. Elgin Community College
  6. Governors State University
  7. Harold Washington College
  8. Harper College
  9. Harry S. Truman College
  10. Joliet Junior College
  11. Kennedy-King College
  12. Kishwaukee College
  13. Malcom X College
  14. Moraine Valley Community College
  15. Morton College
  16. National Louis University
  17. Northeastern Illinois University
  18. Northern Illinois University
  19. Oakton Community College
  20. Olive-Harvey College
  21. Richard J. Daley College
  22. Roosevelt University
  23. Saint Xavier University
  24. Waubonsee Community College
  25. Wilbur Wright College

Network of Partners

PCC continues to cultivate an evolving network of partners whose services, expertise, and insights are used to support the development and implementation of ILEA members’ equity plans in service of their goals and based on their campus needs.

  • Achieving the Dream
  • The Aspen Institute
  • Center for Urban Education
  • National Student Clearinghouse – Postsecondary Data Partnership

Latest ILEA Blog Posts

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Applied Equity in Action: With Gratitude for Your Continued Commitment to Students

• College and University Partnerships, Featured, ILEA, PCC Blog

BY Joe Saucedo, Senior Partnerships Manager With much of 2022 in the rearview mirror, it seems like an opportune time to reflect on all this collective group of...

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PCC statement image

ILEA Catalyst Grant Funds Used to Change Pedagogy and Practices at Harold Washington College

• College and University Partnerships, Featured, ILEA

At Harold Washington College (HWC) we know that many of our students do not complete. We know that our students of color and our low-income students disproportionately fail...

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Upcoming ILEA Events

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