DeKALB — Members of University Council discussed potential state laws that would affect higher education during their final meeting of the 2016 to 2017 academic year Wednesday.

The meeting was led by Faculty Senate President Greg Long and President Doug Baker in the Holmes Student Center, Sky Room.

Baker discussed Senate and House bills on the floor that pertain to higher education and where NIU stands in supporting these bills. University officials communicate with state lawmakers about NIU’s stance on given bills.

Senate Bill 888

NIU is opposing SB888, which authorizes community colleges to offer nursing baccalaureates. Darryl Block, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, and Baker do not think this bill is a good idea, Baker said.

“Many universities agree this is a bad idea,” Baker said. “Universities should be in charge of baccalaureates, and community colleges should be able to do their thing.”

House Bill 230

HB230 requires each public university to admit first-time freshman applicants if the student graduated in the top 10 percent of his or her high school graduating class.

Although NIU admits all students that graduated in the top ten percent of their high school class, NIU is neutral on the bill.

“We feel legislatures shouldn’t decide what admissions requirements should be,” Baker said. “We believe that is our job.”

House Bill 3142

HB3142 would mandate that a public college may not inquire about an applicant’s criminal history information at any time during the admission decision-making process.

The bill will only affect university admissions and not individual program admissions.

Campus police and other universities are concerned about this bill passing, Baker said, so NIU is opposing this bill.

House Bill 3447

This bill is a tuition reduction grant bill. It requires each public university to reimburse full-time resident undergraduate students a portion of tuition charged in the form of a grant applied directly to a student’s financial aid account.

To determine the grant amount for each student, the university would calculate the difference, if any, between the current fiscal year’s appropriations to the university and Fiscal Year 2015 appropriations and divide the amount by the number of the students enrolled in the previous academic year, according to the bill.

Because of the lack of a state budget for FY18, NIU would not be affected by this bill, Baker said. NIU pled neutral to this bill.