Governor Pat Quinn has signed a measure that affects tuition rates at Illinois community colleges. The move is being praised by officials at Rock Valley College. The new law amends current state statute that says community colleges receiving equalization grants must set their rate at 85-percent of the statewide average, or risk losing the grant money. The change lowers the threshold to 70-percent.
That's good news for schools like Rock Valley College, which is one of the more affordable two-year institutions in Illinois.
RVC Trustee Ted Biondo says this means they don't have to worry as much about other schools raising their tuition:
"This law effectively decouples us from those increases. It's based on our budgets now, not based on what the other community colleges do" Biondo said.
Biondo says although RVC's most recent tuition hike wasn't driven by this law, he says it has affected such decisions over the past several years.
The new law goes into effect immediately.