Partnership for College Completion Applauds Governor Pritzker’s $100M Investment In MAP,
Urges Equity in Funding for Public Institutions
February 15, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Lauren Grimaldi, lauren@partnershipfcc.org
CHICAGO, IL– Today, the Partnership for College Completion celebrates Governor JB Pritzker’s commitment to education, proposing $100M in additional funding for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) in FY24. Making Illinois colleges affordable is of paramount importance in building enrollment and retaining students, and this investment is a much-needed step in that direction. This funding will help Illinois build off the significant enrollment increases we’ve begun to see at our regional public four-year institutions following post-COVID declines, creating more opportunities for first-generation students and providing greater access for students from low-income households. The Governor also announced a historic 7% increase in the state appropriation to public colleges and universities.
“MAP is currently the single most powerful tool Illinois has to address college affordability in an equitable way by providing funding that directly supports students,” Executive Director Lisa Castillo Richmond said. “We applaud the Governor for his strong and ongoing support for our students and our colleges and universities, which is a direct investment in our state’s economic future. When our institutions are strong, our communities and the people within them can thrive. This is another great step in the right direction to ensuring more students have access to affordable higher education within the state of Illinois.”
However, we urge the Governor and the General Assembly to prioritize equity when it comes to distributing additional funding to these institutions, which the state has not done previously. In January, the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) recommended an $86.3 million increase in funding to be distributed among public universities with an equity consideration. We urge the legislature to adopt IBHE’s recommendation this year of tying the distribution of funding to the number and concentration of Pell Grant recipients at each university, which will prioritize the institutions and students that have the most need for these funds. While the SB 815 Commission on Equitable Funding is making great strides toward recommending an equity- and adequacy-based funding formula later this year, we shouldn’t replicate existing inequities while waiting for the new model. The allocation method that IBHE recommended was already used to distribute funding during the COVID-19 pandemic and should be utilized again with these significant increases in new dollars.
“We celebrate this historic investment in our institutions, while also being mindful that our entire state would benefit from a more equitable approach to funding that ensures all institutions have the resources they need,” Castillo Richmond said. “As the Commission works to create a new funding model for the state, we cannot afford to continue to distribute resources according to the status quo when such significant new funding is in play.”
PCC will continue to be a strong advocate for the Governor’s proposed budget throughout the legislative session, working to advance these historic proposed increases in MAP and the state appropriation to public institutions. PCC urges the legislature to follow IBHE’s lead to ensure Illinois distributes funding to institutions utilizing a more equitable approach.
###