Illinois cuts off funding for its public universities
Illinois cuts off funding for its public universities
Inside the Chicago State University student union, where banners for a recent gathering highlight some of the schools core values. - Nova Safo/Marketplace
A state budget stalemate in Illinois, which has dragged on since last July, is offering a masterclass on the destruction political gridlock can cause.
At risk are the state's 57 public universities and community colleges, which were once a model for access and diversity.
In the mid- to late-1990s, Illinois was the top performing state in helping its residents attain higher education through need-based grants and affordable tuitions, according to a report by the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Research on Higher Education. The report said such efforts helped minority communities.
Today, minority students are akin to collateral damage in a battle between the state's Republican governor and Democrat-controlled legislature.
The two sides can't agree on a state budget, so the government has been limping along since last summer using accounting maneuvers. While those measures have kept government functioning, the state cannot send funds it has promised to organizations, such as its higher-learning institutions.
Public universities and community colleges haven't gotten any state money for months, even though such funding can make up as much as one-third of an institution's budget. The schools have been relying on cash reserves, and, for larger institutions, on money from their endowments or private donors.
But smaller schools are feeling the financial pressure.
The state's budget impasse reached a new level of urgency when Chicago State University recently announced that it is in dire financial straights, and in danger of closing. The university canceled spring break and shortened its school year, so that it doesn't run out of money before students finish their semester.
The university's president, Thomas Calhoun, who has been critical of the governor's role in the budget impasse, said he is planning to lay off employees - potentially including tenured professors - in order to keep the school open in the summer and next fall.
"All employees have received notice or will receive notice, including the president of the university, all senior administrators. There are no exceptions," Calhoun said at a press conference.
There is a real danger that Chicago State University might not only downsize, but close completely. Just the potential of such an outcome could trigger a downward spiral. Take the example of what Chicago State freshman Noah Burke plans to do, in response to the school's financial troubles.
"I'm definitely planning on transferring. I'm in the process of it, gathering my transcripts and such," Burke said in an interview at Chicago State's cafeteria. He said that his friends at the school are taking similar measures. "My friends are basically...saying they'll go to Atlanta, different cities," Burke said.
If enough students take similar pre-emptive measures, it could jeopardize Chicago State's efforts to survive.
If the university were to close, it would disproportionately affect minority students, because nearly 70 percent of its student body is African-American. The university is similar to historically black colleges and universities, which are recognized by federal statute. While Chicago State is not officially an HBCU, Clif Conrad, a professor of higher education at the University of Wisconsin and a nationally-recognized expert on minority-serving schools, said it shares many of HBCU's characteristics.
"Predominantly black institutions, like Chicago State, have cultures and practices that are often very different from mainstream higher education," which allows them to better serve traditionally under-represented students, Conrad said.
The state budget impasse, and the resultant lack of funding for all of Illinois institutions of higher education, could potentially cause damage to many other schools. For example, there are anecdotal reports that some university professors in Illinois are being approached by schools in other states, which are trying to lure them away.
The timing of the budget crisis could also affect next year's enrollment, said Barbara Gellman-Danley, the president of the Higher Learning Commission, the agency which accredits universities in the Midwest. "It is a very bad time to [have this crisis] when decisions are being made about fall enrollment," Gelman-Danley said, "Students may choose not to attend based on the precarious situation of the institutions."
The Higher Learning Commission has sent notices to all 57 public universities and community colleges in Illinois, asking for details about their financial status. The agency wants to know if there are others among the group, especially those with smaller financial cushions, that are also close to facing the same difficulties that are plaguing Chicago State. "We are concerned about a long-term impact, because if an institution becomes increasingly behind in paying its bills... a lot of things can happen," Gelman-Danley said.
It is not just institutions that are suffering.
Illinois has also stopped sending money to students in universities and community colleges, who qualified for need-based state grants known as MAP, or the Monetary Award Program. Those grants can total as much as $5,000, and are used to pay for school tuition and fees. Without a state budget, officials cannot release the funds, even if students are eligible for them. Many state institutions have been picking up the slack, by crediting students for MAP grants for which they were eligible, with the hopes that when a state budget is eventually passed, those universities would be paid back.
Such a move has compounded the financial strain on state institutions, and some schools have stopped making such credits - leaving students with the burden of having to come up with the extra money for school. "It definitely hits low and moderate income students very hard," said Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Washington, D.C.-Based Institute for Higher Education Policy. "Many of those students also tend to be first-generation students. Many, often, are students of color."
Cooper said loosing state financial aid could mean some of those students give up on college altogether, while others might have to take additional jobs, which slows down their college education, and puts them at risk of never finishing their degrees.
The higher education crisis has put increasing pressure on state officials to come up with a resolution to the months-long budget impasse.
On one side of the stalemate is newly-elected governor Bruce Rauner, a Republican who came into office a year ago promising major reforms to reduce the state's chronic budget deficits. On the other side is Democrat Mike Madigan, the powerful speaker of the state house, who has opposed many of the governor's plans - including spending cuts and changes to union laws. "We've attempted to meet halfway. Yet, he's holding out for all of what he wants, the way he wants it. And he's not been persuasive," said Steve Brown, Mike Madigan's spokesperson.
The governor has a different story. But his office would not make him available for an interview, despite repeated requests. A spokesperson instead directed us to the governor's public statements regarding both the budget impasse and the crisis in the state's higher education.
The governor has insisted that he would like to resolve the higher education crisis, and fund schools such as Chicago State. But he wants the legislature to pass bills to fund higher education by including spending cuts, or giving him the power to make those cuts. The Democratic majority in the state legislature opposes that.
The state legislature passed one funding bill that did not include spending cuts, and the governor vetoed that bill, saying the legislature had not figured out how to pay for the funding it would send to higher education institutions. "I've proposed reforms to save tax payer money, and grow the economy, they were ignored. And I've said to the speaker... I'll let you cut whatever you want. He's ignored that. All he's focused on is trying to force a massive tax hike on the people of illinois," Rauner said during one recent press conference.
As the political stalemate drags on, state universities are tightening their finances. The governor has identified two other schools, in addition to Chicago State, that are under financial strain. One of those schools, the rural Eastern Illinois University, recently announced layoffs.
Illinois cuts off funding for its public universities
Inside the Chicago State University student union, where banners for a recent gathering highlight some of the schools core values. - Nova Safo/Marketplace
A state budget stalemate in Illinois, which has dragged on since last July, is offering a masterclass on the destruction political gridlock can cause.
At risk are the state's 57 public universities and community colleges, which were once a model for access and diversity.
In the mid- to late-1990s, Illinois was the top performing state in helping its residents attain higher education through need-based grants and affordable tuitions, according to a report by the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Research on Higher Education. The report said such efforts helped minority communities.
Today, minority students are akin to collateral damage in a battle between the state's Republican governor and Democrat-controlled legislature.
The two sides can't agree on a state budget, so the government has been limping along since last summer using accounting maneuvers. While those measures have kept government functioning, the state cannot send funds it has promised to organizations, such as its higher-learning institutions.
Public universities and community colleges haven't gotten any state money for months, even though such funding can make up as much as one-third of an institution's budget. The schools have been relying on cash reserves, and, for larger institutions, on money from their endowments or private donors.
But smaller schools are feeling the financial pressure.
The state's budget impasse reached a new level of urgency when Chicago State University recently announced that it is in dire financial straights, and in danger of closing. The university canceled spring break and shortened its school year, so that it doesn't run out of money before students finish their semester.
The university's president, Thomas Calhoun, who has been critical of the governor's role in the budget impasse, said he is planning to lay off employees - potentially including tenured professors - in order to keep the school open in the summer and next fall.
"All employees have received notice or will receive notice, including the president of the university, all senior administrators. There are no exceptions," Calhoun said at a press conference.
There is a real danger that Chicago State University might not only downsize, but close completely. Just the potential of such an outcome could trigger a downward spiral. Take the example of what Chicago State freshman Noah Burke plans to do, in response to the school's financial troubles.
"I'm definitely planning on transferring. I'm in the process of it, gathering my transcripts and such," Burke said in an interview at Chicago State's cafeteria. He said that his friends at the school are taking similar measures. "My friends are basically...saying they'll go to Atlanta, different cities," Burke said.
If enough students take similar pre-emptive measures, it could jeopardize Chicago State's efforts to survive.
If the university were to close, it would disproportionately affect minority students, because nearly 70 percent of its student body is African-American. The university is similar to historically black colleges and universities, which are recognized by federal statute. While Chicago State is not officially an HBCU, Clif Conrad, a professor of higher education at the University of Wisconsin and a nationally-recognized expert on minority-serving schools, said it shares many of HBCU's characteristics.
"Predominantly black institutions, like Chicago State, have cultures and practices that are often very different from mainstream higher education," which allows them to better serve traditionally under-represented students, Conrad said.
The state budget impasse, and the resultant lack of funding for all of Illinois institutions of higher education, could potentially cause damage to many other schools. For example, there are anecdotal reports that some university professors in Illinois are being approached by schools in other states, which are trying to lure them away.
The timing of the budget crisis could also affect next year's enrollment, said Barbara Gellman-Danley, the president of the Higher Learning Commission, the agency which accredits universities in the Midwest. "It is a very bad time to [have this crisis] when decisions are being made about fall enrollment," Gelman-Danley said, "Students may choose not to attend based on the precarious situation of the institutions."
The Higher Learning Commission has sent notices to all 57 public universities and community colleges in Illinois, asking for details about their financial status. The agency wants to know if there are others among the group, especially those with smaller financial cushions, that are also close to facing the same difficulties that are plaguing Chicago State. "We are concerned about a long-term impact, because if an institution becomes increasingly behind in paying its bills... a lot of things can happen," Gelman-Danley said.
It is not just institutions that are suffering.
Illinois has also stopped sending money to students in universities and community colleges, who qualified for need-based state grants known as MAP, or the Monetary Award Program. Those grants can total as much as $5,000, and are used to pay for school tuition and fees. Without a state budget, officials cannot release the funds, even if students are eligible for them. Many state institutions have been picking up the slack, by crediting students for MAP grants for which they were eligible, with the hopes that when a state budget is eventually passed, those universities would be paid back.
Such a move has compounded the financial strain on state institutions, and some schools have stopped making such credits - leaving students with the burden of having to come up with the extra money for school. "It definitely hits low and moderate income students very hard," said Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Washington, D.C.-Based Institute for Higher Education Policy. "Many of those students also tend to be first-generation students. Many, often, are students of color."
Cooper said loosing state financial aid could mean some of those students give up on college altogether, while others might have to take additional jobs, which slows down their college education, and puts them at risk of never finishing their degrees.
The higher education crisis has put increasing pressure on state officials to come up with a resolution to the months-long budget impasse.
On one side of the stalemate is newly-elected governor Bruce Rauner, a Republican who came into office a year ago promising major reforms to reduce the state's chronic budget deficits. On the other side is Democrat Mike Madigan, the powerful speaker of the state house, who has opposed many of the governor's plans - including spending cuts and changes to union laws. "We've attempted to meet halfway. Yet, he's holding out for all of what he wants, the way he wants it. And he's not been persuasive," said Steve Brown, Mike Madigan's spokesperson.
The governor has a different story. But his office would not make him available for an interview, despite repeated requests. A spokesperson instead directed us to the governor's public statements regarding both the budget impasse and the crisis in the state's higher education.
The governor has insisted that he would like to resolve the higher education crisis, and fund schools such as Chicago State. But he wants the legislature to pass bills to fund higher education by including spending cuts, or giving him the power to make those cuts. The Democratic majority in the state legislature opposes that.
The state legislature passed one funding bill that did not include spending cuts, and the governor vetoed that bill, saying the legislature had not figured out how to pay for the funding it would send to higher education institutions. "I've proposed reforms to save tax payer money, and grow the economy, they were ignored. And I've said to the speaker... I'll let you cut whatever you want. He's ignored that. All he's focused on is trying to force a massive tax hike on the people of illinois," Rauner said during one recent press conference.
As the political stalemate drags on, state universities are tightening their finances. The governor has identified two other schools, in addition to Chicago State, that are under financial strain. One of those schools, the rural Eastern Illinois University, recently announced layoffs.
