The Illinois Board of Higher Education will create a Priorities, Productivity and Accountability committee at its meeting Tuesday in Chicago.

The committee will split its work into two phases. The first phase will look at public universities, and the second will look at the rest of higher education.

Thomas Lamont, IBHE vice chair, will be the committee chair. Other committee members will be decided Tuesday at the meeting.

“It impacts the quality of education,” said Patricia Henry, president of the Faculty Advisory Committee to the IBHE.

At last Wednesday’s University Council meeting, Henry gave a Faculty Advisory Committee report that raised concerns about the absence of quality in the committee’s mission.

Previously, the IBHE had a similar committee called Priorities, Quality and Productivity.

“We really do want to prevent a narrow definition of the term ‘productivity,’” Henry said.

Other concerns highlighted in the report were: streamlining of funds needed for reporting activities and reallocation of those funds to core academic missions, additional accountability measures for the committee and a focus on degree programming being in congruence with the university’s mission.

At the University Council meeting Wednesday, President John Peters said he would check with the IBHE to see if a student also would be a part of the committee.