Higher Education

Health care providers and educators worry a $100,000 lifetime limit on borrowing for graduate nursing programs, wrapped in the fine print of the Big, Beautiful Bill, could put a wrench in the workforce pipeline.

During a visit to Bloomington-Normal on Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker said he supports changing how state colleges and universities are funded, but wouldn't commit to releasing discretionary funds held back last fall.

Dr. Linda Haddad has been named the next dean of Illinois State University’s Mennonite College of Nursing. Haddad will take the post on July 1, 2026, succeeding Dr. Caroline Mallory who served in the interim position.

Illinois State University is trying to revive a stalled dorm and dining center project. It also wants to put a solar farm on the land, roofs, and maybe parking structures at its College of Engineering campus on GE Road in Bloomington.

The structure of college classes will have to change in an AI world. That's according to Roy Magnuson, the director of the newly created Adaptive Edge Institute at Illinois State University. The institute studies new technologies and how they influence teaching. Right now, that's Generative AI.

The Fourth District Appellate Court has reversed a circuit court decision and bounced a property tax dispute between Logan County and the not-for-profit that formerly ran Lincoln College back to the lower court.

The Illinois Board of Higher Education reports that nearly 190,000 students are enrolled across the state for the Fall 2025 semester.

Enrollment at public universities in Illinois grew to a 10-year high of 189,791 students, a 2.3% increase over last year, according to figures released by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

A pair of town hall meetings this week with campus stakeholders unveiled more details about ISU's new budget framework that itemizes revenue by enrollment.

Illinois State leaders are urging the campus to commit to change and remain flexible as the university implements a new budgeting process that could significantly re-allocate program funds.