A special panel asked to analyze Illinois’ “system of systems” is likely to endorse status quo, despite criticism calling for major structural changes within the state’s higher education system.

The state-wide panel convened last November and December under a state mandate to evaluate the effectiveness of the current system of governance in the Illinois higher education system.

J. Carroll Moody, NIU’s faculty representative to the panel, said if the report reflects the views of the majority of panelists, it is unlikely any changes will be made.

In the current “system of systems,” the Illinois Board of Higher Education serves as an overall coordinating agency for all sectors of state higher education. The system links the four university governing boards, representing 12 public campuses, to the governor and legislature.

Moody said most of the panelists seem to think it does not matter what the governing system is, the problem lies with inadequete funding.

ick Noone, executive director of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee in charge of the panel, said the final report was expected by Dec. 31, but the panel missed the deadline.

However, the committee was granted an extension and Noone said he expects the report to be submitted by the end of next week. The report will include written transcripts of all testimonies made during the hearings and the panel’s own recommendations, he said.

Moody said although many panelists felt the main issue of the hearings was the creation of a separate governing board for NIU, the central purpose for the hearings was to discuss ways to improve the system on a state-wide level.

Nine representatives from NIU testified at the November open hearings, including Regency Professor William Monat, Student Association President Huda Scheidelman, College of Law Dean Leonard Strickman and Sen. Patrick Welch, D-Peru. All those who testified cited the need for restructuring of the state’s system, with many witnesses also advocating a separate NIU governing board.

Moody said many panel members dismissed many witness testimonies as being unrelated to the issue of the system’s effectiveness.

“I don’t think all these critics should have been so easily dismissed. As two or three of our witnesses testified, sometimes structural change is needed to bring new leadership that breaks many ingrained habits and ways of thinking,” Moody said.

If changes are proposed, another committee will have to be formed, Moody said. “Illinois’ ‘system of systems’ is a creature of the legislature, unfortunately any changes that are made in this system must go through the same channels that created the system in the first place.”