Bad news may be in the future for NIU students because of the looming possibility that summer courses will not be offered.

Ivan Legg, NIU executive vice president and provost, said if budget cuts are excessive, between 6 to 8 percent, for example, then the summer classes offered will be cut down or even eliminated.

Course schedule books for summer and fall classes were distributed last week, but Legg said the final decision will not be made until next week. The cutting of classes first was considered when the state started talking about an additional eight percent budget cut for next year; however, NIU President John Peters has said that the elimination of summer classes would be a last resort.

The possibility of cutting classes may cause concern for seniors looking to finish their college degree in the summer.

“We’ll obviously look at where to cut because there are certain courses that have a greater impact on whether a student graduates or not,” Legg said.

Senior history major Lynne Broadwell said the cuts won’t affect her because she is planning on traveling in the summer, but she doesn’t think the potential class cuts will be fair.

“Some people plan on the summer to catch up on classes they weren’t able to take over the school year,” she said.

Senior communication major Steve Wiley agreed.

“If I would’ve wanted to take them, it would’ve been messed up, you know?” he said. “I think they’ve got some money somewhere that they can use to fund [classes].”

Legg stressed that the cutting of classes is the last option.

“Summer school is a very high priority,” he said. “We’ll do everything we can to keep it in place.”