In the 1990s, Illinois high schoolers were lucky. Compared to other states, Illinois was an affordable place to get a college education. That is no longer the case. Over the last 40 years, the overall cost of a college degree has nearly tripled in the United States. However, the relationship between in-state and out-of-state tuition has stayed relatively the same in most states: attending school in-state is less expensive than out-of-state. For Illinois high school graduates, that is far from the truth; giving them little reason to stay home.
State funding for public higher education institutions in Illinois has fallen 50% since 2000, according to a 2023 report by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. In combination with regressive legislative action, like Illinois pulling out of the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) in 2021, many Illinois students have been left in the lurch. The overall percentage of public higher education enrollment dropped 21% in Illinois, over four times the national average, indicating a great migration of students from Illinois. Whether attending in-state or out-of-state, the financial burden of college remains virtually the same, as the once reliable benefits of an in-state education have noticeably dissipated in Illinois.
According to data from the National Student Clearinghouse, graduates of Naperville North High School have exhibited a decline in enrollment in two-year and four-year Illinois colleges and universities in recent years. In 2014, 53% of the graduating class attended post-secondary institutions in Illinois whereas 47% attended school outside of the state. By 2021, this data has reversed with the majority of North graduates (54%) attending a college or university out-of-state and 46% in-state.
Generalizing students’ attitudes on college is difficult, but it’s clear the out-of-state college experience is preferred. Illinois schools simply don’t have the mix of affordability, prestige and community they once did. After leaving MSEP and experiencing budget trade-offs for state funding of public universities, staying home for high-achieving Illinois students just doesn’t pay off like it does in other Midwest states.
Brian La Porte, Naperville North’s College and Career Counselor, attributes this effect to Illinois' lack of legislation regarding university enrollment percentage requirements of in-state students.
“I notice less perceived value when you’re looking at flagship institutions like U of I, ISU, and even UIC you’re not seeing that huge bundle of savings that you would elsewhere…Illinois has no law on record that says ‘U of I has to have 70% of all students be residents from the state,’ but North Carolina does, Texas does,” said La Porte.
To many North graduates, Illinois schools aren’t worth the price tag. Many felt that they could get a similar experience at another Big Ten university or elsewhere for the same price – or even cheaper. Class of 2019 graduate Madeleine Gignac is a senior at the University of Iowa (UI) and says she never seriously considered an Illinois school.
“If U of I were significantly cheaper, I would have considered it more, but because [UI and U of I] were so similar, I didn’t really think about it,” Gignac said.
Elissa Eaton, a freshman at the University of Illinois and 2022 North graduate, says her circumstances presented an uncommon and rewarding financial opportunity. Eaton’s parents had enrolled her in College Illinois!, a program that, according to Eaton, allowed families to pay for their children’s college tuition for the price it was the year they were born. The discount is only applied if the student attends an Illinois school. This form of prepaid tuition has since been dissolved by the organization. It was the financial savings that led Eaton to attend U of I.
“I could go to Ohio State, I could go to Minnesota but why would I go there when I could get the exact same experience but for so much less because I did College Illinois!. I could afford it but I could save my parents money,” Eaton said.
However, students in the future won’t be able to rely on College Illinois!. Citing a funding shortfall, the program was closed to new enrollees in 2017.
Students like Gignac and Eaton are bearing the brunt of legislative neglect from the Illinois statehouse.
After leaving the MSEP in 2021 and ending the yearslong involvement of state institutions, Illinois has practically denied its students almost $7,000 in savings. MSEP's terms indicate that non-resident students are not to be charged more than 150% of in-state resident tuition at public universities and a 10% reduction on their tuition rate at private institutions, all within the group of participating MSEP states.
A 2020 report by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), the organization responsible for overseeing the MSEP, shows data that students from Illinois saved approximately $44 million in tuition throughout the 2019-2020 academic year—the highest out of all participating states in the program, assumedly because Illinois’ tuition rates are already higher than other states.
As of now, Illinois is an “inactive member” of the exchange. The final school to withdraw from the program was McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois. The state would be able to rejoin the program should a school decide to opt-in in the future.
Illinois students who attend out-of-state institutions in the Midwest will no longer be eligible to receive MSEP tuition discounts, leaving many doubting whether staying in-state or in their region of residency is really a better deal in terms of financial savings.
Currently, over 70 institutions throughout eight Midwest states remain a part of MSEP.
There is some hope for Illinois college students – and their parents’ wallets. The new state budget for the 2023 fiscal year is set to provide $655.2 million in operating funds for the University of Illinois system and $122 million for the state’s primary financial aid program, MAP, providing assistance to over 22,000 students in the University of Illinois (U of I) system. The plan, which began on July 1, 2022, increased the U of I system appropriation (funds from the state budget allocated to schools) by 5% over the 2022 fiscal year.
Despite this recent increase in allocated funding, the tuition rates for the 2022-2023 school year still increased by 1.8% for incoming in-state freshmen in Urbana-Champaign and Chicago, and 1.5% in Springfield. However, the Illinois state guaranteed tuition law states that rates will remain unchanged for four years for students from Illinois. In short, the Illinois budget is predicted to decrease tuition by increasing federal support to universities yet, nothing has truly improved for the students.
Illinois State Senator for the 21st District Laura Ellman recognizes that widespread affordability for tuition at educational institutions across Illinois has not yet been reached. However, she maintains that the Illinois General Assembly is pursuing legislation that will work to make this a reality.
“I think there’s been a lot of things working against affordability and I think we’re trying to address some of that in direct funding to universities, increasing MAP grants which are the grant to students in need and then also there’s merit-based aid we’ve also tried to do greater funding for,” Ellman said.
Governor Pritzker signed legislation in Aug. 2021 that formed a Higher Education Evidence-Based Funding Commission to evaluate funding allocation to Illinois institutions.
The commission must provide a report of its findings to the General Assembly no later than July 1, 2023. The report would include redistribution of state resources to public institutions, consideration for access disparities, incentives to enroll underrepresented groups, support the retention and hiring of world-class faculty and guidelines for the distribution of funds.
Previous North graduates have exhibited a growing distaste for Illinois schools given the incomparable tuition costs and general lackluster appeal of in-state schools. A pattern that may be cemented into the sentiments of current Naperville North seniors.
The Illinois state budget for the 2023 fiscal year allocates a record-high $2.24 billion budget to higher education institutions in the state—a $248.5 million increase from last year. Such an increase could suggest a decrease in the cost of tuition for Illinois students at Illinois public colleges and universities, however, the effects of the increase may not be truly identifiable until the following years.
In contrast with recent legislative efforts, for the 2022-2023 academic year, Illinois students can still expect to pay the average in-state tuition at U of I of $17,572 - $22,836, versus the average in-state tuition for students in other Midwestern states such as $10,353 per year at the University of Iowa or an estimated $10,722 per year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In short, the benefit of financial savings at an in-state school is no longer a guarantee for Illinois students.
Contributors
Graphics: Haley Flavin
Photography: Claire Tanza
Sourcing and Interviews: Ryan Rong and Claire Tanza
Credits:
Claire Tanza