The Illinois Higher Education Summit (PAST EVENT)

The Higher Education Summit brought together leaders from government, business, civic organizations and education in a discussion of higher education's role in the state. More than 160 were registered for the October 2007 event at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The summit was sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IGPA, the U. of I. College of Media, and the Forum on the Future of Public Education at the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Results from a public perception survey were shared at the event. While a large majority of Illinoisans say higher education is very important to achieve success, most of them believe the state's colleges and universities are good but not great, according to a survey conducted for the University of Illinois.

On the other hand, a substantial majority of respondents support investing more state money in higher education, even if it means investing less in other areas.

The survey, conducted by Knowledge Networks for the University of Illinois' Higher Education Summit, found that only about 11 percent of Illinoisans believe the quality of education at public four-year colleges and universities is excellent.

At the same time, about 73 percent of Illinois residents view a college education as very important to achieving success, but are worried about rising tuition costs. Only about 44 percent believe the value of higher education is worth the cost.