Higher Education

Four Bloomington Normal area college students have been named student Laureates of the Lincoln Academy.

The Lincoln Academy seeks to honor outstanding students who are dedicated to their schools and communities.

Lauren Koszyk of Bloomington attends Illinois State University. Rachel Hile-Broad attends the University of Chicago. Steven Drew of Downs goes to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. And Kendra Baber of Normal attends the University of Illinois at Sprringfield.

Community colleges in Illinois said they've cut frills, suspended travel, and even laid off teachers. Now they need state lawmakers to come through with funding.

That was the gist of a letter sent last week from the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents​ to the governor and legislative leaders.

Illinois Wesleyan University is losing its Provost.

Jonathan Green is taking the Presidency at Susquehanna University.

Public colleges and universities in Illinois may soon be able to furlough employees for up to three weeks.

The ongoing budget impasse has taken a toll on higher education. Regular state funding has dried up, replaced by a mere trickle of stop-gap money.

Nearly fifty faculty members at Illinois State University have now signed an open letter objecting to the use of a consultant on academic affairs and enrollment issues. The letter was published in the Vidette student newspaper late last month with more than thirty signatures at first. Additional faculty have since signed on.

Illinois State University leaders are concerned about an effort to grant a community college the authority to offer bachelor's degrees in nursing.

The measure pushed by State Senator Andy Manar is billed as a way to address a nursing shortage.

Illinois State University has promoted from within to fill the Dean Position in the College of Applied Sciences and Technology.

Todd McLoda is the current Senior Associate Dean in that College.

ISU President Larry Dietz says he does not forsee a need for layoffs or furloughs at the campus in Normal.

During his state of the university speech Dietz lamented that higher education is in the same position it was last year at this time, no budget, no appropriation, and a lack of certainty for some months more as the legislature and Governor refuses to act.

Western Illinois University says enrollment this fall has dropped by seven percent.

The announcement came Wednesday as some state universities brace for the possibility of enrollment declines due to Illinois' budget crisis and a lack of state university funding. 

After more than a decade of discussion and false starts, Starbucks is coming to the Illinois State University campus.

The coffee shop opens Monday in the Student Fitness Center.

Illinois State University says not only did overall enrollment and freshmen enrollment rise this fall, so did minority student enrollment. African American enrollment and Latino student attendance increased ten and nine percent respectively.

Freshman Kharisma Thomas of Chicago talked about staff efforts to accommodate students.

Early enrollment numbers have Illinois State University leaders smiling.

More than 21,000 students are on campus, an increase of about three hundred, based on first day enrollment numbers.

Republican Congressman Rodney Davis and Democratic State Treasurer Michael Frerichs are barnstorming across Illinois Universities in a bipartisan effort to improve college savings programs.

Among the ideas the two promote is allowing employers to take a tax credit for up to five thousand dollars per worker per year used to pay off student debt.

Illinois State University president Larry Dietz commented on an alleged rape that happened during an ISU Preview orientation program. Speaking at the Board of Trustees meeting earlier today, Dietz said this is the first time this has happened since the event was founded in 1966.

A father and son are accused of drugging a prospective ISU student and sexually assaulting her in a university dormitory.

It allegedly happened during the orientation program called Preview. ISU Chief of Staff Jay Groves said the situation is unprecedented in the half century of successful summer offerings.

Illinois State University President Larry Dietz is telling the campus community 'thanks' to lawmakers for the stopgap spending bill, but things still aren't great.

In a campus wide e-mail Dietz notes ISU starts off the current fiscal year the same way it did last year with no budget. And spokesman Jay Groves says the stopgap measure is still an eleven million dollar cut.

Some Western Illinois University employees will have to take more unpaid days off as the school tries to cope with a drastic decrease in state aid.

This spring, Western imposed furloughs on non-negotiated staff earning more-than 40-thousand dollars. They had to take those days off between April and June.

Illinois State University President Larry Dietz said he is really disappointed lawmakers have failed to approve a budget for the second consecutive year. The spring session of the General Assembly ended Tuesday night without any viable spending plan. Dietz said this has been bad news for eleven months.

Many businesses are figuring out how much new federal rules on overtime pay will cost them starting in December. The effect on Illinois State University could be in the two million dollar range.