A motion to eliminate the M.A. in journalism as recommended by the Illinois Board of Higher Education failed at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences College Curriculum Committee meeting Wednesday.

Committee member Robert Self, an English professor and director of freshmen English, said although a vote was never taken on the recommendation, the motion was never seconded, which in effect killed it.

“A motion was made on the (M.A. journalism) degree but there was no vote on it. It doesn’t mean the degree is okay, just that it won’t be a function of the College Curriculum Committee (to eliminate it),” Self said. “We have been approached to make a decision by the IBHE, the Board of Regents and the Academic Planning Council, and that’s not how we like to work here.”

He added, “I think it was a difficult decision. It was made with a great deal of discussion.”

The committees’ powers include the “final authority for the substitution, alteration, addition or deletion of courses other than those involving general education.”

During the same meeting the council voted to approve the recommended eliminations of M.A. programs in Russian and German.

Committee Chair Donald Cress, LA&S associate dean, refused to discuss the situation.

“I really wouldn’t want to comment yet until I tell (LA&S Dean James) Norris about it,” he said.

In an interview Wednesday night, Norris said the meeting was supposed to be confidential and thus refused to comment. He did suggest, however, the committee might take another look at the issue in two weeks.

But Self thinks this possibility is unlikely.

“The concern of the university was that there be a vote. The committee decided not to present a motion, which means that the committee had the opportunity to move for the program’s elimination,” he said. “Unless someone else told us to look at it again I don’t see why it would come up again.”

All the programs NIU has identified for elimination relating to the IBHE’s Priorities, Quality and Productivity initiative have been forwarded for approval to each college’s respective college curriculum committee by the provost’s office, Self said.

NIU Provost J. Carroll Moody said he hadn’t heard of the decision by the committee, but conceded it would cause problems for the university.

“I think this may have some damaging effects on our PQP report and serious repercussions for the university,” Moody said.

The committee’s coolness to the proposal was not the first time faculty refused to become directly involved in the PQP process.

An effort to get the Faculty Senate to endorse the recommendations was met with resistance by faculty at their March 3 meeting. Eventually the responsibility for the endorsement was passed on to the University Council.

Moody said the committee’s decision would complicate matters for NIU’s ability to continue with the PQP initiative.

“The IBHE will be looking at different programs. We may very soon be facing a whole bunch of new programs that we haven’t looked at. (The decision) could pile process on top of process,” Moody said. “At some point we may be facing a brick wall in what we could do.”

“A motion was made on the (M.A. journalism) degree but there was no vote on it. It doesn’t mean the degree is okay, just that it won’t be a function of the College Curriculum Committee (to eliminate it).”

Robert Self

Curriculum committee member