About DeVry
The Illinois Board of Higher Education Proprietary Advisory Committee (IBHE PAC) consists of member institutions in the higher education space. These institutions are dedicated to serving a diverse student base in an effort to ensure equal access to higher education.
As a member of the IBHE PAC, DeVry University is committed to supporting the state’s goal of 60 by 25, helping 60% of adults in Illinois earn a college or career credential by 2025. DeVry serves on the PAC to help forge new opportunities in higher education. DeVry’s associate national dean of Accreditation and Academic Quality, Paula Ure, volunteers her time to support a variety of student-focused initiatives including those that help students address readiness in math and English, support dual credit and collect data to assess student needs. This service helps improve access to higher education for students in Illinois.
The IBHE PAC members are committed to serving a diverse student population and the needs of a variety of communities in Illinois and beyond. The 15 member institutions included in the September 2019 IBHE PAC Institution Impact Report represented 59,508 enrollments as reported for Fall 2017 IPEDS data.
“Serving on the PAC and supporting the work of the IBHE is of critical importance to pave the way for more equitable and accessible educational opportunities for our residents,” says Ure. “I’m proud of the work we do, serving on a committee for IBHE and being part of a larger mission to help deliver higher education to the stakeholders we collectively serve – students, companies, public bodies and the general public.”
The Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) to the IBHE serves every institution in Illinois, including four-year schools, public and private schools and for-profit institutions. This council advocates for 58,000 faculty members throughout the state in an effort to help provide access to high-quality education. Council members also participate in six working groups:
The P-20 Outreach working group is of notable interest, supporting individuals from pre-K through doctoral programs. The working group promotes faculty-initiated programs that support P-20’s goals to help maximize student attainment of education and provide contributions to society.
Dr. Shawn Schumacher, a senior professor of English and Humanities, has represented DeVry and volunteered his time to the FAC—with the goal to improve access to education from birth to adulthood—since 2008. “The faculty committee is a brain trust of members from organizations across the state who aim to provide students who are interested in higher education the means to afford it, and then provide the best quality education possible,” said Schumacher, also Chair of the Faculty Advisory Council to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. “Our goal is to create a better teaching and learning environment for all of our students. We extend our planning outside of the classroom by trying to advocate for changes or educational policy that would be beneficial to faculty and students throughout the state.”
Providing access to high quality education is a driving force at DeVry University. In addition to serving college students, DeVry helps prepare qualified 11th and 12th grade students to thrive in a modern global society through the Advantage Academy high school in Chicago, Illinois, and Decatur, Georgia. Founded in 2004 in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, this program is open to high school sophomores, and gives them the chance to earn an associate degree in Network Systems Administration or Business at the end of four years of high school. This dual degree program has:
DeVry supported these programs as one of their corporate sponsors to help Boys & Girls Clubs of America continue these opportunities for kids and teens as the next generation’s future workforce.