An initiative which could result in the elimination of 190 academic programs across the state is continuing unabated.

The Illinois Board of Higher Education’s initiative, the Priorities, Quality and Productivity process, started in October 1991 and will continue through October 1993 and beyond.

The initiative is designed to streamline public higher education through the elimination of academic programs.

PQP’s stated goal is to reallocate resources by eliminating programs of low quality, priority and productivity, and direct those resources to programs of the highest priority, quality and productivity.

Some critics have called the process politically motivated and claim that significant savings will not result from the process.

The IBHE is judging the programs with quantitative data which some have called outdated and unfair. The IBHE has stood by its use of information and the fairness of the process.

The IBHE and all the public universities in the state evaluated their programs and came up with separate reports about program elimination and consolidation.

The IBHE has recommended 190 program eliminations across the state, including 15 from NIU. NIU’s report agreed with some of the recommendations, but differed sharply on others.

NIU President John La Tourette said there are a number of programs on the IBHE list which NIU is adamantly opposed to.

He said the programs include the College of Law, the doctoral program in psychology, the doctoral program in geology and the doctoral program in special education. Tourette said NIU will defend these programs “through careful analysis which will show their need to this region, and the uniqueness of that need.”

“We are proceeding in a normal course of review and are not panicking,” La Tourette said.

“Through analysis, we will decide what’s best for the campus. The people on this campus know our programs five times better than anyone in Springfield,” La Tourette said.

He said he would encourage people who have concerns about programs to make those concerns known to the IBHE and the legislature.

La Tourette said he feels the process might shine on NIU’s off-campus programs favorably. He said the IBHE has encouraged NIU to continue to offer and expand off-campus offerings.

He said other public universities actually have been told by the IBHE to stay out of the northern region of the state.

The IBHE will hold hearings Nov. 23 and will have a meeting Nov. 24 in Chicago. La Tourette said he has only received information about the hearings orally.

He said the nature of the hearings and the details involving them have not been communicated to him.

The Regents were unavailable for comment about the process because of Columbus Day.