U of I System reflects on state budget’s support of higher education
May 31, 2024 2:39 PM

Dear colleagues,

The news release below is being distributed today.

Tim Killeen
President

May 31, 2024

U of I System reflects on state budget’s support of higher education

URBANA, Ill. – University of Illinois System leaders expressed their appreciation for Gov. JB Pritzker’s and the Illinois General Assembly’s continued support of higher education in the 2025 fiscal year budget approved early Wednesday. 

The General Assembly approved an operating budget of $710.6 million for the system in the fiscal year that begins July 1, a 1.8% increase from the current year. 

“We greatly appreciate the opportunity each year to meet with the General Assembly and update our elected officials on the U of I System’s ongoing mission to not only provide a world-class educational experience to our state’s students, but also to find meaningful ways to help invigorate the state economy, close gaps in health care and generally improve the quality of life for residents throughout the state,” system President Tim Killeen said. “We recognize and appreciate Gov. Pritzker’s and the General Assembly’s challenges in addressing needs on a variety of fronts, and we are immensely grateful for their continued support of higher education.” 

The budget also raises the available funds for the Monetary Award Program to $711.6 million, with the $10 million increase representing a change of 1.4%. The state’s primary student financial aid program, MAP provides financial aid to nearly 22,000 students across the U of I System universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.

“About 80% of the U of I System’s undergraduate students are from the state of Illinois, and MAP is an important resource for many of them and their families,” Killeen said. “Seventy-five percent of system graduates live and work in Illinois after they graduate, contributing to the state’s economy and adding to the civic vitality of communities throughout the state.”  

On a statewide basis, the budget more than doubles the funding for campus mental health early action, increasing that support from about $3.4 million in the current year to $7 million in the upcoming fiscal year.

Additionally, the budget restores funding of $6 million to support public university education for Illinois veterans and National Guard members. In the absence of state appropriations for these scholarships, public universities have worked to make sure this gap did not create a barrier for these scholarships. 

The system’s appropriation request in November included a request for increased support of the Prairie Research Institute, which comprises five state scientific surveys in the areas of natural history, archaeology, geology, water and sustainable technology, as well as the Illinois Water Resources Center. The budget approved this week includes a $200,000 increase in PRI operations funding, or 1.3% of the current year’s $15.2 million operations budget.

The budget includes $575 million for deferred maintenance and construction at higher education facilities, to help finish priority campus projects from the state’s Rebuild Illinois program. Within that sum, $450 million will go to universities throughout the state and $125 million to community colleges. 

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The University of Illinois System is a world leader in research and discovery, and the largest educational institution in the state with more than 94,700 students, about 28,000 full-time equivalent faculty and staff, and universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. The U of I System awards more than 27,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees annually.