The Board of Regents has not yet begun the actions necessary to reply to the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s re-recommendation to eliminate three doctoral programs at NIU.

However, Joseph Grush, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, feels the Regents will back NIU’s endangered programs.

“The expectation from the university is that the Regents will go along with the staff reports from the university,” he said. “We expect the Regents to fully back us, but I don’t know that that will happen.”

Grush’s opinion was mirrored by economics department Chair Prem Laumas and geology department Chair Collin Booth.

The doctoral programs of economics and geology, along with special education’s Ed.D., were recommended by the IBHE for elimination this month.

The IBHE does not have the power to eliminate programs. Instead, by citing them as economically and educationally unjustified, the IBHE intends to force the Regents into taking responsibility and deciding themselves whether the programs should be continued.

Recommendations made by the IBHE last year were sent to the universities to be reviewed. This year’s recommendations consist mainly of those programs the universities chose to retain, but were unable to convince the IBHE of their value.

“It’s really going to depend on how the Board of Regents handles it,” Booth said. “As far as we know the Board of Regents is standing by its endorsement of the program. We have no reason to believe they would not support the program.”

Last September, the Regents supported the continuation of the programs by endorsing NIU’s 1993 Productivity Report which included NIU’s intention to retain the programs.

Grush gave other reasons why he thought the Regents would endorse the programs.

“The faculty opinion at NIU is that these are good programs and that they should be continued,” he said. “The Board of Regents has the responsibility to better meet the needs of the universities.”

Grush said the Regents will most likely rely on the universities recommendations because “if you are looking at academic matters you need to trust them to academic missions, unless they’ve proven they can’t do the job.”

He said the review processes conducted by NIU’s Academic Planning Council and the fact NIU did eliminate many programs in response to last year’s IBHE recommendations prove “the faculty at NIU have the guts to cut programs.”

Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves could not say what the Regents’ decision about the programs might be.

“We’d be way ahead of ourselves to talk about something like that,” he said.

The Regents have yet to officially discuss the new recommendations because the IBHE released them only this month.

“I anticipate that if the Board of Higher Education recommended the Regents review the programs that the Regents will review the programs,” he said. “I can’t say that for sure because the Regents have to speak for themselves.”

The Board of Regents will meet Dec. 1 and 2 at NIU. Groves said the Regents will discuss the IBHE’s recommendations during their meeting.

As part of the third year in their Priorities, Quality and Productivity initiative, the IBHE has requested a response from the Regents by August of next year.

“I anticipate that if the Board of Higher Education recommended the Regents review the programs that the Regents will review the programs. I can’t say that for sure because the Regents have to speak for themselves.”