From Free Pizza To Free Tuition, Colleges Try Everything To Get Students Vaccinated
WASHINGTON — In late July, Jeremiah Monteiro, a rising sophomore at Purdue University, got a surprise visit from his school’s mascot. The black and yellow train, known as the Boilermaker Special, pulled up to Monteiro’s family home in Naperville, Ill., and Purdue officials presented the sophomore with a Willy Wonka-inspired golden ticket worth $9,992, the […]
First Lady Biden Discusses Higher Education Investments In Illinois Visit
SPRINGFIELD—First lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon on Monday to discuss how the American Rescue Plan will support higher education in Illinois. After touring the facility, Cardona and the first lady announced President Joe Biden’s investment in higher education through the American Rescue Plan, […]
ISU President: Universities Want IDPH To Require Vaccination For Fall Attendance
NORMAL — Illinois State University and other public higher education institutions want the Illinois Department of Public Health to require students be vaccinated for COVID-19 if they attend classes in the fall. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/wglt/audio/2021/03/segment_1_all_students_vaccinated.mp3 Listen to this story here. During an Academic Senate meeting last week, ISU President Larry Dietz provided an update on whether students […]
Illinois To Expand Vaccine Eligibility Ahead of April 12 Universal Rollout
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Friday that more groups of people will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of April 12 when everyone over age 16 will become eligible. Starting Monday, March 22, higher education staff, government workers and members of the media will be eligible to receive shots. A […]
Pritzker Protects K-12 Spending From Cuts, But Advocates Say More Investment Is Needed
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker outlined a proposed budget for the next fiscal year this week that keeps state spending on both K-12 and higher education mostly flat. If approved by state lawmakers, this would be the second year in a row that Illinois hasn’t invested in its school funding formula. The formula, passed […]
U Of I System Enrollment Surpasses 90K Students
Enrollment at the University of Illinois system this year exceeded 90,000 students for the first time. University officials say the increase marks the eighth year in a row of record breaking enrollment numbers. This year’s enrollment gains come in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn. Combined enrollment at the Urbana, Chicago and […]
Midwest University Leaders Brace For Decline In International Student Enrollment
URBANA – University leaders from across the Midwest say they’re concerned about a drop in international student enrollment this fall, given new restrictions imposed on foreign students by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones, Michigan State University President Samuel Stanley, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and Loyola […]
Model Simulates How Quick COVID-19 Can Spread On A College Campus
A new model is cautiously optimistic about a university’s ability to control the spread of COVID-19 this fall—but that hinges largely on how much…
University Of Illinois Announces Plans To Reopen In The Fall, But Some Professors Fear For Their Safety
URBANA – The University of Illinois system, including its campuses in Urbana, Springfield and Chicago, will welcome back tens of thousands of students this fall. In an announcement Thursday, university officials laid out plans to offer a mix of in-person and online instruction. The announcement comes days after staff at the U of I’s Urbana […]
Illinois Students Fear Missing Out On College Experience As Universities Brace For Losses
URBANA – Dennis Austin is frustrated. Austin, 26, transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earlier this year. He has kidney disease and high blood pressure, and is quarantining at home with his immunocompromised mother in Chicago. He says he felt like he put himself and his family at risk when he traveled from […]
‘Their Story Matters’: How Broadcast Journalism Students In Illinois Are Reporting On COVID-19
One of Kenya Williams’s favorite classes is the broadcast journalism course she’s taking at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. That’s why she was devastated when she realized all of her university classes would be moving online in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Like many institutions […]