With support from the Ascendium Education Group and the Illinois Community College Board, the Partnership for College Completion today announces the launch of the Illinois Developmental Education Equity in Action Network (IDEEA).
Launched in December 2023, IDEEA is a two-year cohort that will provide 17 community colleges and universities across the state with technical assistance and expert guidance to reform their developmental education programs, aligned with Illinois’ Developmental Education Reform Act, by implementing a co-requisite model.
“Years of data and research tell us that developmental education courses make it harder for students to make it through college, which is why we’re proud to be laying the groundwork for reform to take place,” said Claudia Mercado, Senior Director of College and University Partnerships at PCC. “Through support from our partners in equity at Ascendium Education Group, this network will help provide the tools and resources that colleges need to prioritize more equitable outcomes for students.”
Institutions participating in the network are:
- Danville Area Community College
- Elgin Community College
- Governors State University
- Illinois Valley Community College
- Kishwaukee College
- Malcolm X College (City Colleges of Chicago)
- McHenry County College
- Morton College
- Northeastern Illinois University
- Olive-Harvey College (City Colleges of Chicago)
- Rend Lake College
- Rock Valley College
- Roosevelt University
- Saint Xavier University
- Southwestern Illinois College
- Triton College
- Wright College (City Colleges of Chicago)
PCC is collaborating with Illinois-based Almy Education to provide intensive coaching and technical assistance to all participating colleges and universities in the areas of math, English and systems-level change. Additionally, PCC has retained the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) as a research and evaluation partner in this work.
As an expert on developmental education reform in the state, PCC will release a report, “A Progress Report on Reforming Developmental Education in Illinois.” Written by members of the PCC research and data team, the report will serve as an update on where the state’s colleges and universities are at in terms of implementing the Developmental Education Reform Act (HB2170), which was signed into law in 2021.