The chairman of the Illinois Board of Higher Education announced his intention to ask the General Assembly to grant the IBHE program cutting authority.

The announcement by IBHE Chairman Arthur Quern came right before the board unanimously approved its suggestions for program cuts as part of the Priorities, Quality and Productivity (PQP) initiative. PQP aims at reallocating higher education’s limited resources by downsizing program offerings.

Under the initiative, the board has recommended to the 12 state campuses elimination or restructuring of 190 academic programs, including NIU’s College of Law. Currently, however, only the governing board of a university, such as NIU’s Board of Regents, has the power to eliminate a program.

The IBHE is the coordinating and planning body of the governing boards and does not have program cutting power. This fact was a consoling thought to university administrators who viewed the governing boards as a last line of defense against implementation of some PQP recommendations the universities feel are unjustified.

Quern said giving the IBHE the power to eliminate programs would be a “logical and natural extension” of its authority which already includes approving new programs.

“I’m making the request not as an attempt to put the fire to the feet of the universities, but to keep the fire going in case it’s needed,” Quern said.

Reaction from other higher education officials was not upbeat. “I think the General Assembly was wise years ago when it split the authority (between the governing boards and the IBHE),” said NIU President John La Tourette.

The division allows a balance of viewpoints, including a statewide view from the IBHE and a regional view from the individual governing boards like the Regents and Board of Governors, La Tourette said.

“We’ve seen too much of this statewide capacity (with PQP),” he added.

Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves said, “I think it’s unnecessary and at first blush I would not be inclined to support it.”

If Quern’s request is granted, it would shift the power balance and the IBHE would feel the brunt of political pressure formerly felt by the governing boards, Groves said. “It would take away from the IBHE’s focus on long-range planning issues,” he said.

Quern said the individual campuses now will review the recommendations and will be expected to implement the recommendations “or substitutions of comparable scope.”

The IBHE is making budget recommendations for next year’s budget based on the reinvestment potential of the recommendations.

Therefore, in order to save a program, a university might be able to “trade” reallocation dollars from another area or program in which it finds savings.

“For those who believe the IBHE has been operating in areas it does not belong, this a chance for them to win back their territory,” Quern said.

La Tourette said NIU already has identified for reallocation more than the 6 to 8 percent of its budget suggested by the IBHE. NIU has reallocated 13 percent of its budget since fiscal year 1990, he said, and has identified up to $10 million more for reallocation within the university.

NIU’s Academic Planning Council, which is made up of faculty members, administrators and students, will make recommendations on which programs will be eliminated.

Quern said there is a fear that the process will become bogged down in campus processes. Quern said he doesn’t agree with that fear but added that where there is an inability to reach a conclusion on the campuses, the IBHE should have the power to eliminate a program.

“If an impasse results over a recommendation, depending on the recommendation and the disagreement, the program eliminating power could be used,” Quern said.

Quern made the announcement the day after speakers at a public hearing attacked the PQP initiative for its use of flawed data and a management-style approach to higher education.

Quern’s announcement came as a surprise to some people as board members said they were not made aware of Quern’s intentions beforehand.

Groves said he was not very surprised by the move because it was outlined as a possibility in the report of Gov. Jim Edgar’s Task Force on Higher Education.

Quern said small programs with inadequate funding distort the university’s focus by taking up time and attention, and therefore should be eliminated.

He said while the programs might not be bad, universities need to make a “quality choice.”