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CSU expects “massive disruption of operations” by March 1

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Illinois

A budget impasse between the General Assembly and Illinois’ Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, could force the state’s only university that serves predominately Black students to either shutter its doors or cut staff and academic programming by mid-semester.

That’s when CSU reserve funds will run out. The university has been operating off reserves that now have dwindled down to $9 million—enough to operate the 7,000 student body university for two more months. It costs about $5 million a month to operate the university that began in 1867 as teacher training school. […]

Ms. Griffin, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, noted that all public institutions are facing funding shortages, but CSU is hit harder because of its student population. Most students attending CSU are parents, many of whom work while others are working on their master’s degrees, she said.

“It is affecting us the most because we have the most non-traditional Black students,” Ms. Griffin said. “The government knows who relies on what and how much they rely on. So by not funding us, I believe that they know it is going to be detrimental for us.”

“If no state action is taken before March 1 to give CSU the state funds it needs to operate, than we expect a massive disruption of operations to take place,” said Tom Wogan, CSU’s public relations director. “It’s hard to say exactly what that will entail as we are in uncharted waters. There has never been a 7 month delay in state funding before.”

Griffin’s point is well-taken. This isn’t a traditional university, but it is too often compared to traditional schools by outlets like the Tribune.

* Also, Rep. André Thapedi has introduced legislation to send the school some money…

Appropriates $25,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Board of Higher Education for the purpose of making grants to those public community college districts and public universities that have a minority student enrollment of at least 75% of the total student enrollment.

So far, though, he only has one co-sponsor, Rep. Thaddeus Jones.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 10:54 am

Comments

Consequences for (in)action by the state.

Comment by James the Intolerant Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:01 am
Oh well, they can go to Payton Prep and Dartmouth.

Comment by olddog Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:08 am
Rich,
It’s ironic that I read your item immediately after reading a piece that we now have $1.3 trillion of student debt in this country.
To preserve the “middle class”, our great thinkers thought that home ownership and a college education defined the “middle class”. Hence, if everyone achieved those items - even if financed by student loans and federal home loan programs, we would enhance our “middle class”.
The over financing of homes created the real estate chaos of 2008. It would seem that we are facing a similar challenge on the educational front.
Just like we had a real estate “re-set” in 2008, I’m afraid we are looking at an educational reset in the next few years.

Comment by Downstate Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:09 am
So it begins…the collapse of higher education for those least able to pay.

Comment by Wensicia Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:11 am
Where is IBHE?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:12 am
Downstate,
Wouldn’t that fact, an impending student loan bubble, be good support for collective society to assist boot-strapping up those of lessor resources? (i.e. map grants)

Comment by cdog Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:13 am
Its okay, most of their traditional students don’t graduate anyway:
Graduation rates of full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates within 150% of normal time to program completion, 2008 cohort: 19%

Comment by Dudeman Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:14 am
The rest of the regional universities are very, very close behind CSU in their financial predicaments.

Comment by Because I Said So.... Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:14 am
That’s why you should send your kids to Undisclosed Location University in Europe rather than Emil Jones University.

Comment by OurMagician Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:16 am
===Where is IBHE?===

Are you really expecting the Governor’s appointed team to publicly criticize the Governor’s actions?

Don’t hold your breath. They know exactly how much damage this is causing. If enough of them had any guts, maybe they’d speak up instead of holding their tongues.

It’s unthinkable that Illinois would not fund higher education. And yet, here we are.

Heck of a job Raunie.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:21 am
“The over financing of homes created the real estate chaos of 2008.”
The real estate crisis was cause by massive fraud, not over financing of homes.

Comment by Tom Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:23 am
Dear Governor Rauner,

This is CSU… https://www.csu.edu/president/history.htm

2017 will be CSU’s 150th anniversary. Do you plan to be there to help celebrate?

Regards of the day…

Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:23 am
Unless it’s snark, that’s an awfully callous response, Dudeman. A lot of students going to a place like CSU have to climb a mountain to remain matriculated and graduate in the first place. Even a short closure will see students drop out and never come back. And that is what’s most infuriating about this impasse of choice: the willful decision by Rauner to dump a lot of human potential into a pile and set it on fire until he gets his way.

Comment by Toffee Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:23 am
Rauner’s goal is to dismantle public universities in this state as much as he can. Madigan also could care less. Madigan is a product of Catholic schools from K through Law school and only supports public schools to the extent he has to because he is a Democrat.

GRF funding to these universities has declined not only in term of buying dollars but in real terms over the last 10 years. Blago and Quinn were not particularly friendly either. But with Rauner this reaches a whole new dimension.

And those who are against public universities are winning. They would do the same with public K-12 but that is far more difficult for obvious political reasons.

Neither political party really cares that much unless they have a university within their district. So this ever decremental process will continue-the question is at what rate.

@downstate. You make good points but while the nation and media groaned about real estate and the feds rushed in to help out (as they did in the S&L bailout in the 1980’s) this is basically being ignored. So it is far, far different.

Comment by Federalist Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:24 am
“CSU expects massive disruption of operations by March 1st? I don’t have kids there, and it’s Chicago, let them figure it out.” - Fake Bruce Rauner

The pattern is clear; Bruce Rauner doesn’t care.

“Short term pain, big long term gain” - Bruce Rauner

… at the real cost to people, institutions, social services…

… no one is immune, and Rauner can care less(?)

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:26 am
Dudeman, your comment sounds like “malignant callousness”. Here at DHS we try to eliminate barriers to self-sufficiency. If we were to adopt your attitude of “most won’t make it” we would be in a world of hurt. I believe that any amount of education makes a person better. I think we need to take the opposite approach and work harder to eliminate and reduce the barriers in front of people. I think we should all feel fortunate for people who did that for us in our lives, for people who didn’t give up on us. I’m not going to give in to a Randian worldview.

Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:29 am
I wonder how long it will be until the ACLU files the first class action lawsuit against CSU and the State for closing down during the semester. The premise would be that the paid tuition represents a contract for an education and closing the school or cancelling classes violates that contract.

Comment by Huh? Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:36 am
=Neither political party really cares that much unless they have a university within their district.=
The majority of regional public universities, except Chicago area universities, all have republican legislators. Where are they, what are they doing to help?
What is going to happen to say, McComb if WIU closes. Many of these towns function only because of the university.
It’s well past the time for those legislators who represent public universities to start screaming.

Comment by Because I Said So.... Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:36 am
==$1.3 trillion of student debt in this country==

Total student debt in the United States stood at $364 Bill in 2004, and $966 Bill in 2012. Student debt is the next housing crisis, with a slower effect.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:36 am
===most of their traditional students don’t graduate anyway===

Oh, please.

Many students work full-time and have kids. So, it takes them a while.

Also, quite a few transfer out to one of the bigger publics, or they are only looking for an associates degree, or they transfer in from city colleges.

You’ve bought into the Tribune’s spin.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:37 am
What Rauner is doing to higher education is having terrible consequences for most community colleges, state universities and the students.
They are all burning through reserves, a few can hold out longer then others, but all of them will be seriously damaged.

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:37 am
Rauner is fighting this war for the rich. He clearly doesn’t care about collateral damage if the hurt are those not part of his elite.

Comment by Independent retired lawyer, journalist Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:42 am
“Hang in there.”

Comment by Austin Blvd Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:57 am
-What is going to happen to say, McComb if WIU closes.-

It will probably be the beginning of actually solving this problem. I think both sides are itching for this inevitable crisis because it will be the catalyst that finally brings the issues into focus. Maybe then we’ll understand how people really feel about the “status quo” and whether they’re willing to chuck it all in order to decimate unions. Until then we just have talking heads speculating on how bad things might be if they get to that point.

Comment by pundent Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 11:57 am
I am on the search committee for the next Chancellor at U of I, Urbana. I am very curious to see what role the lack of state higher ed funding plays in determining the candidate pool.

Comment by Filmmaker prof Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:02 pm
What will happen if CSU men’s or women’s basketball team/s make the NCAA tournament?

Comment by Jose Abreu's next homer Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:03 pm
Newsflash! Chicago State University has earned the nickname of “Crony State University” because it was operated like a political patronage plantation. While enrollment fell, the number of overpaid administrators increased. The former president (Wayne Watson) who loaded the payrolls with his political pals was granted tenure and emeritus status after he was replaced. The highlights of his corrupt administration were a series of lawsuits filed by former employees who wound up with sizeable judgments.

Chicago State is not representative of all Illinois universities. It is an example of what happens when political clout runs wild and academics are pushed to the side.

Comment by CSU is Lost Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:20 pm
===most of their traditional students don’t graduate anyway===

== Oh, please. ==

This shouldn’t be up for debate. Just post the numbers. Every university has them.

*This* is exactly why the wheels are falling off…we can’t even get agreements on the most basic facts without contorting them into some twisted political message.

There are no such things as facts anymore. Only narratives.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:25 pm
== What Rauner is doing to higher education is having terrible consequences for most community colleges, state universities and the students.

They are all burning through reserves, a few can hold out longer then others, but all of them will be seriously damaged. ==

Those students should’ve gone to Dartmouth anyway. /s

Comment by thunderspirit Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:27 pm
=What will happen if CSU men’s or women’s basketball team/s make the NCAA tournament?=
Men’s team is currently 4-14; Women’s team is 2-14. Not a good argument there.

Comment by Bogey Golfer Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:30 pm
I know Bogey, there was unimplied snark there. I didn’t even know CSU had athletics until four years ago. And, they play in the WAC…the WAC!!

Comment by Jose Abreu's next homer Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:33 pm
@ Because I Said So….

I know that Hammond of the Macomb area (WIU) has supported the universities . However, as I correctly stated unless you represent that type of district there is little support. And their number do not amount to much.

And I thought I made it quite clear that this dismantling of public universities is being done with the support of both political parties - particularly if one is not in your district.

Comment by Federalist Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:52 pm
It is may opinion and that of many other in the university sector that your comments are on target.

Comment by Federalist Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 12:54 pm
==I know that Hammond of the Macomb area (WIU) has supported the universities=

If Hammond is supporting Rauner and his turnaround agenda (her voting record of present on many bills seems to show that), then I have a hard time accepting that she is supporting the universities. She would have to break ranks to do that.

Comment by Joe M Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 1:21 pm
Any comment from Beth Purvis?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 1:22 pm
The housing crisis of 2008 was brought on by a host of characters, including mortgage agents that were falsifying numbers to get their clients into a home. But what it created was a flurry of home buyers that couldn’t afford a home - in addition to a run-up in home values that led to speculation. (I remember the dental hygienist in Florida that owned 3 homes at one point.)

The student debt in the country is much the same way. Students (like the hygienist) were convinced that the education costs were a good investment. That’s just not always true.

Not unlike the housing crisis was a lesson for the hygienist, the student debt will also be a lesson.

That debt will impact the debtors ability to buy a home, car, etc.

Education is always good. However, we’ve convinced students that they should take on debt to pay for a cost of secondary education that continues to escalate well beyond inflation.

It’s going to require a reset of the economics of college education - and it won’t be without pain.

Comment by Downstate Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 1:32 pm
Downstate, As long as these type of statistics play out, students will be willing to take on debt for education:
http://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2014/data-on-display/education-still-pays.htm

Comment by Joe M Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 2:27 pm
The graduation rates so often cited to prove Chicago State’s failure reflect the performance of only a small portion of the school’s enrollment (around 5 percent). They work like this: universities get credit only for students who matriculate and graduate from the same school. The graduation rate is measured at 1.5 times the undergraduate degree program–the student must graduate within 6 years of matriculation for the school to receive credit for successful completion. Any students who transfer between schools are not counted in the graduation rate for any school. This calculation favors the four-year residential universities and is not favorable to schools whose populations come primarily from transfer students.
Not just Chicago State will be damaged (or destroyed) by the inaction of Illinois politicians, who are receiving their paychecks all this time. The list of at-risk universities includes: Chicago State, Governors State, Northeastern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois (two campuses), and the University of Illinois (three campuses). Although some of these schools can operate longer than others, none can go indefinitely without state funding. This is a direct attack on public higher education in the state and will have serious consequences for the 175,000 students attending these schools and for the economy of Illinois.

Comment by rbionaz Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 3:44 pm
NIU has made it clear it will stay open through the spring semester, but after that I don’t know. The university is the largest employer in DeKalb, and that’s the whole county, not just the city.

What’s been particularly harmful to the financial picture is that a pack of Idahoans have come in to buy toys (e.g., electric mini-shuttle buses that they didn’t realize wouldn’t run in cold weather) and feather their nests to the point that OEIG is conducting what looks to be a major investigation. http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2015/11/09/niu-spending-thousands-on-oeig-probe-of-president-doug-baker/ap79c43/?page=1

Comment by yinn Wednesday, Jan 13, 16 @ 3:52 pm