The decision to attend college usually comes with a catch: You can go, but only if you can afford it. Across the country, that calculation fails — college costs rising, aid falling short, families left to bridge the gap or walk away.

In Illinois, something different is happening. This year, the University of Illinois System enrolled over 100,000 students for the first time in its history — a milestone powered by a simple principle: Cost should never close the door to opportunity.

That principle isn’t rhetoric. It’s sustained investment and a shared commitment between the state and the U of I System to ensure affordability is clear, predictable, and real — not aspirational.

Across its three best-in-class universities, the U of I System has built an integrated approach to access that removes financial uncertainty, creates transparent pathways into and through college — whether students start at community colleges or arrive as freshmen. U of I System supports students from before they apply through graduation. The results are showing up in enrollment growth, but more importantly, in the lives of students who can now make the choice to attend without the weight of impossible math.

Making college affordable with certainty

At the foundation of this work are statewide and campus-based affordability guarantees that provide families with clarity and confidence.

Through Illinois Commitment, Prairie Promise, and Aspire, the U of I System ensures eligible Illinois students can attend a system university and pay no tuition or fees. They eliminate guesswork, reduce anxiety, and allow students to make enrollment decisions knowing college is financially within reach.

Building clear pathways into and through college

Access also means recognizing that students arrive at higher education through many routes, and that transfers are one of the most important pathways to opportunity in Illinois.

Through Transfer Guarantee and university-level transfer pathways, the U of I System’s framework eliminates uncertainty for students beginning at community colleges or other institutions. This ensures eligible students can plan their academic journey with confidence, knowing their coursework will count and their path to a degree is secure.

This work reflects a broader commitment to meeting students where they are and valuing multiple entry points into higher education while maintaining high academic standards and clear expectations throughout.

Meeting learners across a lifetime

Access doesn’t end with a bachelor’s degree, and attaining education doesn’t follow a uniform timeline.

Across the U of I System, universities have built pathways for working adults, career changers, and professionals seeking credentials, certifications, or new skills. Through online programs, stackable credentials, and targeted licensure preparation, the system recognizes that opportunity looks different at different stages of life and that higher education must be flexible enough to meet people where they are and deliver real economic mobility.

Supporting students for long-term success

Getting students in the door is only half the battle. They need support to succeed.

A host of initiatives extend the system’s commitment beyond admission, connecting students from under-resourced high schools to early academic support, mentoring, and financial guidance that improve persistence and completion. Across campuses, additional academic advising and peer-support initiatives ensure students are not navigating college alone, particularly during key transition points, like the first year or post-transfer.

This holistic approach reflects the system’s belief that access is not just about opening the door, but about walking with students through graduation and beyond.

Impact at scale

The results of this coordinated strategy are evident across the U of I System.

This academic year, systemwide first-year enrollment increased by 9%, transfer enrollment grew by 10%, and total enrollment surpassed 100,000 students for the first time. At the University of Illinois Chicago, first-year enrollment rose by 22%, while transfer enrollment increased by 15%, reinforcing the importance of affordability guarantees and transfer pathways in expanding opportunity.

These outcomes weren’t inevitable. They’re the result of alignment — state investment meeting institutional commitment, affordability guarantees connecting to transfer pathways, financial aid coordinating with academic and student support. All working toward a common goal: making access to our best-in-class universities real.

“Supported by every one of these programs is an Illinois student who can now say ‘yes’ to college with financial predictability and confidence. That’s what this work is about: making sure talent and ambition in Illinois aren’t limited by a family’s resources."

Nick Jones, U of I System Executive Vice President/Vice President for Academic Affairs

From framework to lived experience

This story is the foundation. Behind each initiative is a student. Behind each statistic is a family decision made possible by clarity, affordability, and trust.

In the stories that follow, we show how these system-level commitments take shape in students’ lives across Illinois; how tuition support, transfer pathways, and student success programs translate policy to lived experience.

Together, they show what is possible when a public university system delivers on its promise of access, affordability, and opportunity at scale.