(Photo courtesy Facebook/University of Illinois)
By WFMB/RFD Radio
SPRINGFIELD – Often in state high school seniors are picking someplace else to go to college and the University of Illinois is proposing something to do about it.
The Invest in Illinoisan’s fund or the Triple-I fund would give $170 million each year to in-state college undergrads. The spending is part of a larger financial package from the state to the university and it’s the amount of aid that the U of I already gives students. The university said it would give that and 85 percent of any growth in financial aid resources to students from Illinois. University President Tim Killeen said they need to be able to do more to keep students in Illinois and at the U of I.
“It’s a loss for us, it’s a loss for the state,” Killeen said. “Studies show that a majority of college graduates stay in the state where they earn their degree. So the out-migration is costing Illinois talent, earning power and a host of other benefits..”
The overall funding package the university is looking for would be guaranteed based on the U of I meeting benchmarks and other goals. In 2015 about 45 percent of students picked another state to go to school in, that number was 29 percent in 2002.
