West Central Reporter

Illinois has launched a new initiative aimed at preparing college students for professional and licensing exams. Deputy Republican Leader Norine Hammond and Representative Dan Swanson announced the "Prepare for Illinois’ Future Program," which is a collaborative effort between the State of Illinois, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), and Kaplan, a global education company.

The program offers free test preparation courses to students enrolled in public universities across Illinois as well as five selected community colleges. Western Illinois University was the first institution to implement this program, with Carl Sandburg College set to follow shortly.

This initiative provides access to Kaplan's preparation resources for various exams including GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, NCLEX-RN, the Illinois State bar exam, real estate and securities exams. Additionally, students can enroll in certificate courses covering project management and cybersecurity along with other professional development courses.

To ensure the program remains free and universally accessible, $10 million has been allocated from the state budget for this fiscal year. Rep. Hammond expressed enthusiasm about the program's potential benefits: “This free test and licensure preparation program is great news for Western Illinois University, and it will help all public university students prepare for the jobs of the future and save thousands of dollars.”

Rep. Swanson highlighted the impact on skilled professions: “Illinois has massive shortages of people in skilled professions – such as nursing and other medical professions. This new program is a game-changer for our students and makes WIU and Carl Sandburg more competitive with schools across the border.”

The program aims to increase enrollment at public universities within Illinois while creating career pathways for students from underserved communities. It also seeks to address critical workforce shortages projected by 2030—specifically deficits exceeding 14,000 nurses and over 6,000 doctors.

Besides being available at all 12 public four-year universities in Illinois, the initiative is piloted at five community colleges that represent diverse geographic areas: Joliet Junior College, Carl Sandburg College, Southwestern Illinois College, Malcolm X College, and Morton College. Kaplan has already begun collaborating with these institutions to roll out the program effectively.