Grundy Reporter

As Illinois college students explore their options, many candidates for the state’s public universities are looking outside of Illinois for education, which is concerning for education experts as measures are being taken to retain students in Illinois with the help of an app.

Illinois is home to 12 universities, and hoping to keep students in the state, the Illinois deputy governor for education, decided to herald in the new times with consistent usage of Common App.

“There is now one Common App where students can go and access all our public universities,” Jesse Ruiz told Fox 32 Chicago in March. “Illinois becomes the second state in the nation to have all its public universities on Common App.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker | File Photo

Common App is an online application used by colleges and universities to make it easier than ever to get a college education, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker has championed this in his last few budgets providing support for our public universities to do this,” Ruiz said, the Illinois Newsroom reported. “There is some expense, but we think it’s well worth it, given the advantages it gives to all our students in Illinois.”

The new budget’s funding for education is substantial, including $1 million for the fiscal year 2022 to help universities manage the transition to Common App.

“It’s a win-win on all sides, that they’re keeping our Illinois institutions robust with robust enrollments, and also hopefully growing the number of Illinoisans who achieve a higher education degree or certificate or training and making sure that more and more Illinoisans have access to it,” Ruiz said.

All 12 of Illinois’ public universities are participating in the transition to Common App.

Common App is a nonprofit organization that represents almost 900 higher education institutions.