CARES Act Allocation for SIUC

Rather surprised this got posted but if you scroll down to page 67, you will see that, amidst the barber colleges and ABC Adult College (yes that is a school, check page 1), SIUC and SIUE both got money allocated under the CARES Act. SIUC receives $8,866,214, of which at least  $4,433,318 must go to emergency student aid and grants.  SIUE receives $9,678,393 of which at least $4,839, 197 has to go to emergency student aid.

SIUE Phasing out Nursing Program at Carbondale

Not quite sure why SIUE had a nursing program at SIUC instead of on its own campus but the university is phasing it out. Maybe SIUE does not have a school of medicine and took advantage of the infrastructure at SIUC? Meanwhile, SIUC will start up its own nursing program and transfer current students in SIUE's program over to it. Of course, the transfer program got bollixed  enough, that, according to the article, one student got so much misinformation that she is opting to transfer to another school.

Doctorates

I see SIUE is arguing that, since it now has more students than SIUC for the first time, it should see increased funding or even more funding than SIUC. However, most of SIUE's students are commuting students, which have a lower foot print than SIUC's overwhelming numbers of residential students. In addition, SIUC offers doctoral degrees, which absorb more resources. It is also hard to justify increasing SIUE's funding, given that it has lost students along with SIUC

Both Down

Even though both SIUC and SIUC are down in terms of attendance, for the first time, SIUE has exceeded SIUC in terms of total number of students. SIUC does point out that retention rates and average GPA of students are up at the university and that the university is "turning the corner". Of course SIUC has turned the corner so many times under so many different chancellors that I would expect the institution to have gotten back to where it started.

Carbondale Whiners

The Belleville News-Democrat does not have a very charitable take toward the SIUC members on the SIU Board of Trustees. Of course, despite the approaching parity in terms of enrollment, SIUC has far more residential students than does SIUE and also grants doctoral degrees, which SIUE does not, and which require more intensive time commitment from faculty. Granted, I got my doctoral degree from SIUC a number of years ago, but I had to wait several years to enter the program, as there were too many doctoral candidates and not enough faculty available to advise them. Some of the backlog, so to speak, had to clear out of the channel before the program could admit new students.

Letter to BOT

In case you would like to read it, here is the transcript of the letter sent on April 5 by the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce to the SIUC Board of Trustees regarding the proposed shift of $5 million in funding from SIUC to SIUE:

Dear Members of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees,
It has come to our attention that a resolution that would shift financial resources from the Carbondale to the Edwardsville campus will be considered at the April 12, 2018 board meeting. Under Resolution GG-1, $5.1 million would be reallocated to Edwardsville in FY19 and a reallocation would continue annually for four years

. Our concern is two-fold. First and foremost, the initial reduction of $5.1 million dollars is just a few months away. In addition to the immediate cut, the shift to enrollment-based funding sets a precedent for continued reallocation in the future.

While we understand SIU’s overriding priority is to provide a quality institution of learning, we cannot overlook the fact that SIUC serves as an economic engine for southern Illinois. “For every $1 appropriated by the state to SIUC, it generates roughly $7.72 of economic activity annually in Illinois.” * The translation is that the initial $5.1 million reduction would have a negative economic impact more than $39 million. Our business community cannot afford any further decline of SIUC.

 Second, the funding model is decades old. Why take this action now? Just as the businesses we represent have had to make tough economic decisions, so has SIUC. SIUC is doing what is takes to grow enrollment, and therefore, revenue. Attendance at the most recent open house on the Carbondale campus was quite high. The administration and all departments have taken steps to reduce costs and eliminate duplication. SIUC has reduced its budget by more than $31 million since 2014, including the reduction of 500 employees.

SIUC is on course for enrollment growth in fall of 2019 and on target to end this fiscal year with a balanced budget. Remaining faculty and staff are committed to providing a quality education and the revitalization of SIUC.

We respectfully request that you give SIUC, and the region it impacts, time. Time, so that we might reap the results and rewards of the work currently in process. We assure you that this administration and business community are committed to seeing SIUC restored to its former glory.

2018 Board of Directors, Carbondale Chamber of Commerce

Dunn Back

Maybe I am just cynical, but I see Dunn viewing the presidency of SIU as a "dream job" only as long as something better doesn't open up. While I am certain he is happy to be back here, he has jumped quickly from other positions when better opportunities opened up.

He certainly has a lot on his plate with both budget cuts from the state for the system and the differing problems facing the two institutions under his administration, SIUE having to deal with growth, while SIUC faces incremental decline.

SIU President

The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that SIUC and SIUE should split and the position of president of SIU eliminated. The two universities have charted different courses for several years now.  SIUE pulls in students from the St. Louis metro east area and has seen steady increases in attendance over the past 15 years, with minimal amounts of drama.

SIUC, on the other hand, has seen slight but continual declines in attendance, turmoil at the top, and enough faculty dissatisfaction that both graduate students and faculty formed unions. The skills need to successfully guide SIUC are significantly different.  In business terminology, SIUE needs a leader focused on maintaining growth, while SIUC needs a turnaround specialist.

At one time, while SIUE was growing as a spinoff of SIUC, it made sense to have them both operate under the same leadership.  Today, much less so.

SIUE up, SIUC down

Article in the Daily Republican (acutally a story pulled from SIU Media Services) compares the fall enrollment at both campuses. SIUE up about 1.2% whilst SIUC is down about 1.5%.

Transfer students are the one bright point for SIUC. Students are completing their sophomore years or getting Associate degrees elsewhere, then transferring to SIUC. Of course, you can't run a four year institution on the revenue generated by two years worth of students.

This is hardly a new trend. When I attended graduate school at SIUC in the 90's, I often heard from upperclass students that their guidance counselors encouraged them to attend a community college for thier first two years, then transfer to SIUC. Based on a conversation I had yesterday, that is still common among high-school guidance counselors in southern Illinois today.

SIUC Numbers

No official numbers out yet for fall enrollment at SIUC, though they are reportedly slightly down. If they were up, I"d bet we'd have seen official numbers a week ago, since SIUE and SEMO didn't seem to have any problem in getting them to the media.

SIUE Growth

Was talking with a friend who teaches at SIU-Edwardsville and he says the general feeling is that, if current trends at the two universities continue, SIUE will exceed SIUC in student enrollment within 5 to 6 years. When that occurs, the general feeling is the administration will, citing admission trends, push for separation from SIUC and status as an independent institution, something that, according to him, faculty and staff "desperately" want.

Tutiton Freeze

The FreeU blog comments on the effect of the tuition freeze on SIUC and SIUE and why it will beenfite SIUE.

SIUC Down

Several stories on SIUC's drop in enrollment, esp. compared with SIUE's increase. Here, here, here and here, to name a few.

SIUE Enrollment Up

Wish I'd see a story like this about SIUC sometime.