The Illinois Board of Higher Education might try to eliminate some programs at NIU by deeming them economically and/or educationally unjustified.

The IBHE does not have the power to eliminate a program, but the board can make program recommendations to a university or its governing board.

By declaring a program economically or educationally unjustified, the IBHE would go beyond a standard recommendation. It would force university governing boards to take a position to retain or delete the program, thus bypassing campus processes.

Last year the IBHE recommended eliminating 190 academic programs statewide as part of its Priorities, Quality and Productivity initiative. The state’s 12 public universities responded by eliminating 64 of the programs and 44 other programs not originally recommended by the IBHE.

Now the IBHE might be upping the ante by going after some of the programs the universities retained.

Debra Smitley, associate director of Public Affairs, said the IBHE will re-recommend some programs for elimination and that it is likely some of the programs will be deemed economically or educationally unjustified.

“Declaring a program to be economically or educationally unjustified would be an official declaration by the board that the program should be eliminated,” she said.

Acting NIU Provost J. Carroll Moody said such an action could jeopardize programs NIU has attempted to rescue from the IBHE chopping block.

“It would be very unfortunate since they (the IBHE) do not have the legislative authority to eliminate programs,” Moody said.

He said the possible declarations could undermine campus processes and it might be hard for the faculty to take program reviews “seriously.”

“Faculty might say what’s the point of taking the time to carry out a program review if the IBHE is going to try to eliminate it anyway,” he said.

Moody said the declarations would “not show any sensitivity toward the campus process. It is a time-honored tradition that faculty are responsible for the curriculum.”

He said universities have governing boards that are legislatively-charged with the power to eliminate and approve programs and that the IBHE is the state coordinating board, not a governing body.

Board of Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves said he was reluctant to comment on the issue until he saw specific declarations.

Groves did say once a declaration is made, the fate of the programs rests in the hands of the governing board, which does not have to go along with the IBHE’s declaration.

Groves added there had been similar declarations in the past and that it would not be unprecedented.