Illinois ranked No. 1 for spending per student on higher education in 2024, paying more than double the national average. Declining enrollment, poorly structured finances, growing pension payments and bloated administration have driven up costs.
By Patrick Andriesen | Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois spends double the U.S. average per full-time higher education student, yet 106,375 fewer students want to attend its public community colleges and state universities than 15 years ago.
Pensions, administrative bloat and a poor funding formula are mainly to blame.
Illinois ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for higher education spending per full-time student in fiscal year 2024, spending $25,529 per student. That was double the national average and over $4,400 more per student than the No. 2 state: Wyoming, which had only about 8% of the students Illinois supports.
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That translates to Illinois spending the most in the nation per full-time student at public two-year institutions and the second most in the U.S. per full-time student at public four-year institutions.
But all that government money has failed to make Illinois higher education more attractive to students. Enrollment at two- and four-year institutions has dropped from 368,019 in 2009 to 261,644 in 2024, according to the State Higher Education Finance report.
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As spending by the state on higher education has climbed, so has the cost of tuition. Illinois’ in-state tuition for a public university now ranks No. 6 in the nation. It is the highest in the Midwest, rewarding Illinois students with more affordable options when they cross state lines.
Research in 2021 showed nearly 48% of Illinois’ four-year, college-bound students chose schools elsewhere, with the top picks being public universities in neighboring states where tuition was cheaper. They took their knowledge, income and tax dollars with them – often for good.
So why are Illinois taxpayers being forced to spend more on higher education when their schools are serving fewer students? And why does all that government spending fail to keep Illinois tuition from being among the highest in the nation?
State pensions, administrative glut and a poor funding model are mainly to blame at the state’s 12 public universities and 48 community colleges.
Read more here.
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