University of Illinois Chicago

Chicago, IL

F
Score: 370/1400
22,011
Undergraduate students
82%
Retention rate
$14,046
Annual tuition
0.6
Diversity Index
Data submitted by: Anonymous
Large Campus
Large Campus
public
Public University
Urban Campus
Urban Campus
Four-Year College
Four-Year College
Midwest Region
(Neo)Liberal Campus
(Neo)Liberal Campus
Geek Culture
Geek Culture
Noisy Campus
Noisy Campus
Graduate Students Unionized
Graduate Students Unionized

Description

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) scores well on a number of our metrics and places above many of its peers despite continued defunding of public education in Illinois that is harming students. UIC, for example, is the only institution we have surveyed that does not have a fully operational, student-run newspaper -- an essential component of any university ecosystem to hold administrations accountable to students and to keep students informed of community happenings. In 2019, students at UIC started a news platform, The Bonfire, with some funding from the student government. But news reporting in 2023 is still sparse.

According to the Urban Institute, Illinois has among the lowest per capita expenditures on higher education in the country, but UIC still surpasses many of its more well-endowed peers in providing a welcoming campus for disabled students and is one of the leading centers in the world for Disability Studies. Among the notable Disability Studies scholars at UIC are James Charlton, Lennard J. Davis, and Liat Ben-Moshe. UIC's Disability Cultural Center was established in 2018.

Even Northwestern's student newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, had to acknowledge how much NU's campus is failing disabled students compared to UIC, not only in terms of the invisibility of disabled students on NU's campus, but also in comparison to the inclusivity and accessibility of UIC's community spaces. A student at NU tells a reporter at The Daily Northwestern that "he had a role model in high school who was happy [he] got into his 'dream school' but had always encouraged him to go to UIC... 'I wish I had listened to him a little bit more.'"

In 2019, the UIC Police Department began using Clearview AI facial recognition technology on campus, despite pushback from students. In 2022, as part of a settlement with the ACLU, Clearview AI was banned from providing Illinois public entities access to its database for five years.

Are all campus buildings physically accessible to students who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids?

NO

The UIC Bonfire reports, "The grass structure [in the new East Quad] also poses major physical accessibility issues, particularly due to how the center would obstruct the pathways for students with physical disabilities to move across campus. Although the construction was considered to be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, those with a disability or involved in disability justice movements acknowledge that ADA compliance is the bare minimum in meeting access needs."

Are class session recordings readily available for lecture courses?

YES

Lecture videos can be provided for specific accommodations. A student at UIC Law tells us that "all lectures [in the Law School] are available on Blackboard."

Are students required to provide documentation of disability to qualify for receiving initial accommodations?

YES

Is there required diversity and inclusivity training for faculty/staff/and students, and does training include recognition of neurodivergence and disability?

NO

What types of student-run peer support groups exist on campus?

Disability Cultural Center

YES

Mutual Aid Networks

NO

Peer Support Groups

NO

Other

NO

Disability Cultural Center: https://dcc.uic.edu/ 

Have you experienced ableism, discrimination, or witnessed stigmatizing language?

YES

See Negative Experiences section.

Are police involved in responding to student mental health crises?

YES

https://dos.uic.edu/student-assistance/health-personal-concerns/mental-health/

Does your college have a Student of Concern reporting page?

Yes (Allows anonymous reporting)

https://dos.uic.edu/student-assistance/health-personal-concerns/mental-health/

Clery Report data: Number of sexual assaults reported on campus per thousand students.

1

*2021 data

Updated on February 2, 2021.

Has the college published an official statement in support of racial justice movements?

Support for Black Lives Matter

NO

Support for Land Back

NO

Does your college offer a Disability Studies curriculum?

YES

The College of Applied Health Sciences offers a BS in Disability and Human Development, and a PhD in Disability Studies.

Does your college offer a course on Critical Theory?

YES

PHIL 427. Continental Philosophy II: European Thought Since 1960

Does the college engage in morally questionable research?

Animal Experimentation

YES

Cure Autism

NO

Other

YES

Stevan M. Weine, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UIC, has done consulting work for the LAPD, and his pseudo-scientific research connecting mental illness with extremism and violence has played a major role in advancing harmful programs that target Muslims, Black people, and Indigenous people, such as CVE.

News
Submitted by:
admin
2022-11-21

Lawmakers alleged Monday that racist comments and unequal treatment of students has been ongoing for years at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, including racist imagery and statements by one instructor in particular.

The imagery included a photo of someone with a noose around the neck and a hood over the head, and the statements included use of the N-word and asking about a student of color’s “natural hair,” the lawmakers alleged in a letter that demanded school officials address the situation.

Source:Link