Illinois universities have seen an 11% drop in per-student spending in the past decade and a half. One of the largest contributing factors is the rapidly increasing cost of university pension payments. Back in 2009, only 14 cents of every higher education dollar went toward faculty pensions. Now, those payments consume a hefty 43 cents of each higher education dollar spent by the state.
Who’s left to pick up the tab? Students. A direct consequence of this financial squeeze is soaring tuition and fees. The average cost of tuition and fees at Illinois public four-year universities nearly doubled from $8,553 to $16,539 between the 2007-2008 academic year and 2021-2022 academic year.
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