This is the second in a three-part series analyzing the future of NIU’s budget. Part three will look at what campus leaders are doing to avoid budget cuts.

Many university students, faculty members and staff are concerned about the possible effects of further budget cuts. After a more than $13 million budget crisis this year, additional cuts from the state would have far-reaching effects on university programs and departments.

Administrators have focused on the positives while preparing for the worst, but all say if further cuts are made, some university services or programs will be lost.

“I think we’re doing quite well with it,” said Ivan Legg, NIU’s executive vice president and provost. “It’s severe so far, and it’s been very difficult to function on it, but we have good guidance on the part of our president and his support staff.”

History graduate student Anthony Sigismondi is afraid that budget cuts will leave his department unable to hire new faculty when others leave or retire.

“I would just be concerned that the overall quality of education and courses that departments offer will go down with a shortage of faculty,” he said.

Jim Schmidt, an associate professor of history, shared Sigismondi’s apprehension.

“The main thing that concerns me about all of this is a rising student-to-teacher ratio and the pressure it puts on the faculty and the students both being in larger classes,” Schmidt said. “And it increases the work load on the faculty, makes it more difficult to publish and do a whole host of things.”

Concerns about faculty extend beyond the history department, though. Christine Sorensen, dean of the College of Education, has been devoted the keeping the college’s faculty positions filled in preparation for future cuts.

“We’re all wondering about [the possibility of a hiring freeze],” she said. “In our particular college, we have made a commitment to pursuing our positions for next near, mostly because, without faculty we can’t hold classes.”

But protecting faculty positions means other programs and services must be scaled back.

“We have cut in other areas,” Sorensen said. “Essentially, we’ve been doing everything we can to protect the academic programs. That means other things might not fare so well.”

In order to save money, the college has stopped hiring student workers and graduate assistants. The travel budget and many administrative positions have been stripped away as well.

“We’ve cut our equipment budgets down to next-to-nothing, so we won’t be replacing computers quickly,” Sorensen said.

Conditions in the College of Education are not exceptional. Each school tells a similar story of how the budget crisis is affecting quality of education and services. Even the library has been told to prepare.

“[Budget cuts] could impact our ability to purchase new materials for the collection such as books and periodicals,” said Stephen Wright, associate dean for public services. “It’s not clear at this point how severe it would be.”

And, the main concern for many students and those seeking higher education is affordability.

“I’m concerned that the budget cuts would affect the opportunities for students to be able to attend college, like financial aid,” Sigismondi said. “And that it will make college less affordable and less possible for those families that can’t pay for it.”

There is no word yet on whether a budget cut would result in increased tuition. All administrators will say is that nothing has been ruled out and nothing can be decided until it’s known if cuts are coming and how large they might be.