Illinois Community College Board Subsidizes High School Equivalency Testing Costs To Help Struggling Illinoisans

 

[September 01, 2020]     As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create professional hardships for thousands of Illinoisans, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is making it easier for state residents to earn their high school equivalency by announcing grant funding that will significantly reduce the cost of those exams.

The grant funding is being awarded to The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning. The Center will work with Illinois’ two licensed high school equivalency vendors in Illinois – HiSET and GED – to provide the discount codes and administer the testing.

“Taking these tests can lead to better lives, and this grant funding may help minimize a small burden on the thousands of hard working residents who are being strained by the pandemic,” said ICCB Executive Director Brian Durham.

There are two ways to take the exams and access discount code information:

GED

Candidates can find important information to access the discount for the GED exam by logging on to their GED profile and scheduling a test at www.ged.com. First time users will need to create a new account before they can proceed with scheduling a test. Candidates will need to enter the code ILSAVE20 at check-out.

HiSET

Candidates can access the discount for the HiSET exam by calling Education Testing Services customer support hotline at 1-855-MyHiSET and scheduling a test.

“Receiving a High School Equivalency Certificate is the first step on a career path to better job opportunities in high demand occupations,” said Jennifer Foster, Deputy Executive Director and State Administrator of High School Equivalency.

Final costs for full testing packages after grant funding:

· GED (in-person or online): Reduced from $120 to $40.

· HiSET Computer: Reduced from $93.75 to $13.75.

· HiSET Paper: Reduced from $115 to $35.

· HiSET Online: Reduced from $141.25 to $61.25.

About the Illinois Community College Board

The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is the state coordinating organization for the Illinois Community College System - the third largest in the country and the leading public workforce development trainer in the state. The ICCB has statutory responsibility for administering state and federal grants to community college districts and adult education providers and managing high school equivalency testing for Illinois. Illinois community colleges serve over 600,000 residents each year in credit, noncredit, and continuing education courses. Illinois is home to 48 colleges in 39 community college districts which provide high quality, accessible, cost-effective educational opportunities to the entire state.

[Illinois Community College Board]