I am still waiting to hear back from UIC, but I was struck by the fact that they mentioned during interview day that so far the budget impasse has not affected them except to halt building renovations. Naturally, this led me to wonder when it may become an issue for their dental program. The school seems to be doing just fine right now, and on the surface both the students and staff seemed unworried about how the impasse would affect their program. I really liked the school and the people, so I am hoping that this nonsense is settled quickly for the sake of everyone in the Illinois higher education system!
A bit of background for those who aren't aware. The state of Illinois has not funded its state colleges and universities in nearly 9 months. Furthermore, the state of Illinois owes Cook County $66 million which it has so far made no plans to pay. Chicago State University has canceled spring break as a cost cutting measue, and Western Illinois is laying off staff. Last week, Moody's downgraded the credit rating on seven Illinois schools (including UI and even Northwestern) and the accreditation agency (Higher Learning Commission) is warning Rauner that state colleges and universities could lose their accreditation entirely. So far, it seems that UIC and the other big Illinois schools have managed to weather the storm, but there is no end in sight and I can't imagine that UIC or SIU will be able to continue indefinitely with such a big hit to their funding. For example, 22% of SIU's funding is from the state, and Eastern Illinois University is warning that they will be insolvent at the end of the fiscal year without a budget resolution.
So far, UIC has put renovations on hold in an effort to save money and research park is feeling the pinch, UIC has cut funding by $24 million and SIU had initially reduced its budget by $13.5 million but they are now considering $40 million in cuts! SIU president warned that if they do take a $40 million loss that it would likely see the "wholesale ending of programs". It is unclear to me how this may affect UIC's plans to expand their class size from ~50 to ~80 next year. During our interview day we asked the current students if they had any insight, to which they responded, "the administration tells us they have a plan, but they don't say what that plan is."
Rauner is planning a 31.5% reduction in state funding to schools, which is $209 million in total, with $60 million being absorbed by UIC alone. In total, Rauner is planning to cut $387 million from Illinois higher education in total.
Are there any current SIU or UIC students lurking this forum who could offer some insight? I can't imagine that the dental programs would face anything as drastic as a closure, but I am worried that the quality of their programs may suffer as a consequence of the budget impasse.
A bit of background for those who aren't aware. The state of Illinois has not funded its state colleges and universities in nearly 9 months. Furthermore, the state of Illinois owes Cook County $66 million which it has so far made no plans to pay. Chicago State University has canceled spring break as a cost cutting measue, and Western Illinois is laying off staff. Last week, Moody's downgraded the credit rating on seven Illinois schools (including UI and even Northwestern) and the accreditation agency (Higher Learning Commission) is warning Rauner that state colleges and universities could lose their accreditation entirely. So far, it seems that UIC and the other big Illinois schools have managed to weather the storm, but there is no end in sight and I can't imagine that UIC or SIU will be able to continue indefinitely with such a big hit to their funding. For example, 22% of SIU's funding is from the state, and Eastern Illinois University is warning that they will be insolvent at the end of the fiscal year without a budget resolution.
So far, UIC has put renovations on hold in an effort to save money and research park is feeling the pinch, UIC has cut funding by $24 million and SIU had initially reduced its budget by $13.5 million but they are now considering $40 million in cuts! SIU president warned that if they do take a $40 million loss that it would likely see the "wholesale ending of programs". It is unclear to me how this may affect UIC's plans to expand their class size from ~50 to ~80 next year. During our interview day we asked the current students if they had any insight, to which they responded, "the administration tells us they have a plan, but they don't say what that plan is."
Rauner is planning a 31.5% reduction in state funding to schools, which is $209 million in total, with $60 million being absorbed by UIC alone. In total, Rauner is planning to cut $387 million from Illinois higher education in total.
Are there any current SIU or UIC students lurking this forum who could offer some insight? I can't imagine that the dental programs would face anything as drastic as a closure, but I am worried that the quality of their programs may suffer as a consequence of the budget impasse.
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