Leatherneck Nation

I really don't think it has anything to do with enrollment! And I really doubt that anyone has to move his/her family if this is a university choice. Of course its only my opinion! jc

Both UIUC and UIS are seeing smaller numbers of international students registering for the 2017 Fall Semester. That is already resulting in some staff positions being cut at UIS.

Strike at UIS might affect their UIS-Peoria campus.

A strike by most faculty at UIS might affect classes at its Peoria Center. Or it might not.

Peoria instructors tend to be part-time and aren’t union members.

The Peoria Center offers classes that can lead to bachelor’s degrees in accounting, business administration, and management. A master’s degree in business administration also can be obtained through Peoria-based classes.

Northern Illinois University to cut jobs, upkeep under budget woes.

From the Associated Press:

Northern Illinois University officials say cuts and deferred maintenance will be necessary to save money as the school faces a $35 million funding gap from the lack of a state budget.

The DeKalb Daily Chronicle reports university President Doug Baker said in an email last month that the school must prepare for a worst-case scenario until the next fiscal year.

He said attrition won’t be enough to support the burden of personnel costs. Some staff members have been notified about how their employment will be affected, and others will hear about their job status this month.

University spokesman Joe King says scheduled repairs that aren’t creating safety problems or affecting operations will be deferred.

Baker says support from donors and other revenue generators will be key to closing the gap.

On Tuesday, May 9, the House returns to Springfield for the final month of session. Time is running out. The appropriations committees in Springfield have already spent dozens of hours hearing from agencies about their budget requests for the next fiscal year. If we are going to get any budgeting done in the final month of session, we need to start with how much is available to actually fund essential state services.

From the Chicago Tribune:

The state's budget gridlock has deprived public colleges of funding, prompting layoffs and other belt-tightening.

But follow the roller coaster here.

First the rise: Illinois boosted educational appropriations per student by 32.5 percent from fiscal 2010 to 2014, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Much of that funding, however, didn't go to college operations but to shore up previous underfunding of the state's higher ed pension system.

Now the stomach-churning plunge: Higher ed funding - state spending per student - is down an estimated 37.1 percent from 2015 to 2016, the biggest drop of any state, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Is higher ed a bargain in Illinois? Nope. Average public university in-state tuition and fees are fifth highest in the country in 2016-17, behind only New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, according to a new report from Lumina Foundation's Strategy Labs.

Based on this alone, my suggestion to HS studednts would be:
1- Local community college for the first two years- save some money then go where you want to transfer
2-Check out 4 year private for a good package
3-Look out of state if at all reasonable distance for travel
4- An Illinois state university that fits your needs.

UIS administrators, professors reach agreement; strike ends.

From the Associated Press:

Final exams will begin as scheduled at the University of Illinois Springfield on Monday after school administrators and the union that represents tenured and tenure-track professors reached a tentative agreement that will end the strike that kept instructors out of the classroom since Tuesday.

The deal was reached after three days of long bargaining sessions, including a meeting that went from 9 a.m. Saturday until 1 a.m. Sunday. Talks resumed at 10 a.m. Sunday and statements by both sides announcing an agreement arrived before 7 p.m.

UIS professors hit the picket lines Tuesday morning after they were unable to come to an agreement on how the university handles reappointment, tenure and promotion of faculty. The 168-member union has been working since October 2015 on its first contract with UIS.

“We have negotiated a contract that will establish greater transparency going forward,” Kristi Barnwell, an associate professor of history and vice president of the union, said in a statement issued Sunday evening. “This is a step forward in bridging the gap between faculty members and administration.”

Exact terms of the agreement were not immediately released.

The result is that final exams at UIS will go on as scheduled starting Monday. Many students were unnerved over how final exams and final grades for the spring semester would be handled if the strike endured. UIS’ commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday at the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

“We are so glad to be finishing this academic year on a strong note, with the largest-ever graduating class receiving their diplomas on May 13,” UIS Chancellor Susan Koch said in a statement. “As we move forward, we will continue working together to realize more of the aspirations of our students, faculty and all those who belong to our university family.”

The final contract still must be ratified by the faculty before it becomes official.

“We will call for a membership meeting and vote on the contract before the end of semester,” said Lynn Fisher, the union’s president and an anthropology professor.

The SIU-Carbondale newspaper "Daily Egyptian" is reporting that there will be 500 fewer faculty members in the fall.

Enrollment at the campus peaked in fall 1991 when it totaled 24,869. But during the last two decades, SIUC has seen a generally consistent decline in students. In fall 2016, enrollment fell to 15,987, its lowest point since 1965. Overall, there are 15,987 students enrolled, a drop of 1,305 from 2015.

The number of employees at the university has fallen by roughly 14 percent since September 2015, from 3,719 people to 3,138 in January 2017, according to university data. The positions recorded during that time reflect faculty, staff, and administrative jobs.

The university issued letters to its non-tenure track professors that indicate whether the positions they hold will be re-filled in the fall. Those letters can definitively answer whether a teacher is re-hired — with a “yes” or a “no” — or simply give them a “maybe.”

Northern Illinois University will see 150 staff position reductions.

From the DeKalb Daily Chronicle:

In an effort to cut expenses leading into the 2018 fiscal year, Northern Illinois University President Doug Baker announced in an email that there will be 150 staff position reductions, including the elimination of 30 active positions.

1. The workforce is shrinking. Northern Illinois University – DeKalb County's largest employer – will reduce its total staff by more than 150, with most of the reductions coming through leaving vacant positions dark or eliminating them altogether or not hiring replacements for people who retire, NIU President Doug Baker wrote today.

2. Some workers are losing their jobs. About 30 current employees will lose their current jobs, Baker said, including 23 civil service employees who can be transferred to other open positions. The remainder are supportive professional staff whose contracts will not be renewed.

3. The reductions are incremental. Baker said the university has been able to preserve anywhere from 89 to 100 percent of divisional budgets.

4. The financial pain is mounting for the university. Over the past three fiscal years, the state has reduced aid payments to NIU by $125 million, Baker said.

5. Officials are planning for it to continue. University officials are assuming they will receive no additional state funding this year, and no payments for the Monetary Assistance Program that helps low-income students with tuition payments. NIU has been covering those missed payments for students.

6. Officials are budgeting a cushion for the future. The university's goal is to build a $35 million reserve fund, Baker said, with $20 million coming from increased support from the NIU Foundation and cuts to university operating budgets. Another $15 million will come from increased fees and other charges and cost cuts from other parts of the budget, he wrote.

7. There's no turning back. Baker said that officials are hoping for a resolution to the state budget crisis, but it's too late to change course on the actions announced today. "... Because of the severity of our current circumstances, and the uncertainty of our fiscal future, it is unlikely that any last-minute legislative action will mitigate the need for the changes outlined here."