The Illinois Board of Higher Education is planning to examine professors’ productivity levels at Illinois public universities.

James Kaplan, chairman of the IBHE, initiated the issue of faculty productivity because the state remains in financial trouble. It became a larger issue in the early ’90s when the board did a similar study and eliminated courses and programs as a result.

Despite budget cuts and a dramatic increase in the number of students, legislators still think faculty aren’t up to par with their work, Kaplan said.

Virginia Cassidy, associate vice provost for Academic Planning and Development, said faculty members are very busy.

“We have 25,000 students now and we have fewer faculty, so somehow that has to translate into larger classes, which make faculty busier. There are more papers to read and more exams to grade and more assignments to review,” she said.

“We’re back to the budget we had five years ago in 1999, so if that’s not an increase in productivity, then I’m not sure exactly what is,” said Suzanne Willis, executive secretary of the University Council.

Willis said she thinks the issue stems from the lack of understanding of exactly what faculty members do.

Fred Kitterle, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said faculty also work on economic developments, biomedical research, helping businesses develop and helping teachers improve at area grade schools and high schools.

Kaplan recently said he did not think attending professional conferences was a public service of the faculty. They attend conferences on their own time, he said.

Willis said it raised faculty’s hackles, because they want the faculty to be current in their fields.

“This is how you get that way. But they really don’t see that necessarily the point of our functions,” she said.

“One of the things that is important to any institution is information. And the more information we have, the better decisions can be made,” Cassidy said. “So, I think one of the outcomes of this initiative is to give us more information about faculty’s workload.”

Faculty are questioning whether programs will be eliminated.

“It depends entirely on the budget. I know the president is working hard to avoid eliminating any programs,” Willis said.

The state has not yet further explained how it will study professors’ productivity.