A proposal to limit discount tuition waivers for children of public university employees was defeated by a wide margin in the Illinois House last week.
The proposed legislation received 26 “yes” votes, well short of the 60 needed for passage. House Bill 5531, sponsored by Rep. Luis Arroyo, D-Chicago, would have limited the current half-price tuition waivers to families with household incomes of $50,000 or less.
The UI opposed the measure, arguing that employee tuition waivers are a customary benefit at most U.S. universities, and scaling them back would put the UI at a disadvantage in the highly competitive market for top faculty and staff members.
Legislators in districts that represent major public universities urged their colleagues to retain the 50 percent waivers, available to public university employees with at least seven years of service.
Statewide, more than 2,000 students take advantage of the benefit every year, and the state’s public universities absorb the roughly $8 million in total costs. In fiscal year 2011, about 840 students received the discount at the UI, at a total cost of $4 million.
Two other bills seeking to repeal tuition waivers – HB2959 and HB3873 – also have been introduced and assigned to the House Higher Education Committee. The UI will oppose both bills.
