August 21, 2023
Media Contact: Lauren Grimaldi, Lauren@partnershipfcc.org
CHICAGO, IL– The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) applauds Governor Pritzker for signing HB2898 into law. We are grateful for the Governor’s and the legislature’s leadership for this step toward holding for-profit colleges accountable for practices that harm students. The bill requires for-profit colleges with a final judgment or determination against them for operating with unfair or deceptive practices to reimburse the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) funding they received during the period of their deceptive practices.
“We were proud to work alongside Representative Maurice West and Senator Celina Villanueva this past legislative session to get this bill passed,” Government Affairs Manager Danielle Stanley said. “Now that Governor Pritzker has signed it into law, for-profit colleges will finally be held accountable for their deceptive practices, but our work won’t stop there. We look forward to continuing to work with the legislature and the Governor to create and pass legislation that will protect Illinois students and make higher education more accessible for all who seek it.”
In the last 15 years, Illinois has given more than $255 million of MAP funding from taxpayers to these institutions. Four of the ten for-profit institutions that received MAP in 2017 have since closed, leaving many former students with unmanageable debt and limited options to complete their college degrees.
“We are grateful for Governor Pritzker’s leadership, as well as Representative West and Senator Villanueva, who sponsored the bill in the legislature. This new law will provide an additional safeguard to hold for-profit colleges and universities accountable for their deceptive practices,” said Director of Policy and Advocacy Christian Perry. “HB2898 is crucial to protect students across Illinois, and we are pleased to see it in action.”
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About the Partnership for College Completion
The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) champions policies, practices, and systems that increase college completion and eliminate degree completion disparities for low-income, first-generation, and students of color in Illinois – particularly Black and Latinx students