A proposal before the Illinois Board of Higher Education to make the two-year University of Illinois in Springfield a four-year institution has some SIUC administrators concerned that it may affect SIUC enrollment and that other two-year schools may want to follow suit.

U of I in Springfield is an upper-division campus, which offers only junior and senior courses plus a few graduate programs.

On Nov. 11, IBHE is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would allow U of I to implement a capital scholars program at its UIS campus.

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The capital scholars program would allow a maximum of 550 students in a four-year program, which would provide a general education curriculum with a focus on leadership and public affairs.

John Jackson, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and provost, has concerns about the proposal.

If they are able to get freshmen and sophomores, it is my concern that they will be recruiting, to some extent, from the same pool we do, he said. We get some good students from that area, and we don’t want to lose them.

Kathleen Kelly, IBHE deputy director of Academic Affairs, said it is difficult to determine how an additional four-year university could affect area schools.

I think some institutions might see that as a problem, but I don’t know, she said. Will it make a big impact statewide? Probably not. Will it affect central Illinois? It probably will. I just don’t know the effect yet.

John Haller, vice president of Academic Services and SIUC’s IBHE liaison, said Harry Crisp, an IBHE member, expressed concern about whether a four-year UIS would cause a slippery slope in which other schools would follow.

As discussions developed in October and earlier in September, it was evident that any decision on Springfield could, I won’t say will, but it could affect the status of Governor’s State, the only other upper-division institution in the state, Haller said.

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Crisp remarked that there are perhaps some community colleges in the state, like the College of Dupage, that are potentially large enough to become four-year institutions.

Kelly said the board has been considering these potential effects.

Those are all things that have been talked about, and those are all things that most appropriately will be considered next year as the board looks at those big questions while looking at the capacity issue and missions of University, she said.

Crisp was unavailable for comment.

Haller said a September IBHE report indicated that the only areas where there was need for a university were the western suburbs of Chicago and Lake County.

That was the only area where there is sufficient growth to warrant expansion and that in no other area in the state is it so warranted, he said.

Kelly said the report did not identify areas for potential universities.

It was a general look at what we may expect by enrollment growth in the next decade, she said. There are several Chicago metropolitan areas where the growth is above statewide average. In Springfield the area growth is also above the average of the state, but it is not as high as some of the other areas.

Haller said it is difficult to gauge how SIU will be effected by a four-year UIS.

I think there will be an impact although indeterminate with SIUC and SIUE, he said. I am concerned about the fact that the capital scholars program is looking at some of the better students in the state much like an honors program would.

I’m bothered by the fact that those are students we would certainly like to have in our programs.

Kelly said she is uncertain how the vote will conclude.

I don’t think anybody knows, she said. The board has given this a lot of attention, and our board does their homework before voting.