To: All Undergrad Students & All Grad Students <everybody@illinois.edu> 
    From: "Chancellor Cantor and Provost Herman" <provost@uiuc.edu>

Reply-To: provost@uiuc.edu
 Subject: MASSMAIL - Campus Budget/Tuition

Dear Students:
 
	You have probably read and heard a lot lately about budget cuts for 
the university and the possibility of increasing tuition to help make up 
for some of the lost funds.  We want to share with you the most recent 
information we have about this situation as it is unfolding, and also to 
invite your participation in a dialogue concerning these important issues. 

        Knowing that the proposal for a tuition increase and the general 
plan we have outlined for dealing with our financial situation raise issues 
that affect all students, we invite you to learn more about these issues 
and to express your views.  A Town Meeting on the subject will be held on 
Tuesday, January 29, 2002, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. in the Courtyard Cafe of the 
Illini Union.  We will participate, as will Orlo Austin, Director of 
Student Financial Aid.  Student Trustee Eamon Kelly will moderate the 
meeting.  The meeting will offer detailed information about the tuition 
proposal and provide a chance for you to raise questions and share your 
opinions.

	 Before getting into specifics, we want to emphasize that we will 
deal with our financial situation in ways that protect our missions of 
teaching, research, and public engagement.  We will continue to support the 
highest quality of education for our students.  We intend to make sure that 
the funds generated by the tuition surcharge are used for the educational 
enhancements that were promised when the surcharge was approved.  And, we 
will keep this institution moving forward as one of the nation's premier 
public research universities. 
 
	The budget problem we face is this:  Like other states across the 
country, state revenues in Illinois are falling significantly short of what 
had been expected.  As a result, the State will not be able to provide the 
full amounts that were appropriated this year for its agencies and 
operation, including higher education.  In our case, the campus will have 
to cut spending in the current year by $15.2 million.  Depending on how 
long the economy takes to recover, this situation is likely to continue 
into next year and beyond, although the outlook remains uncertain.  For 
planning purposes, we are assuming that next year's appropriation of State 
funds to our campus will be smaller than this year's allocation.

	Here is what we propose to do.  First, we will try to minimize the 
effect of this year's budget cut on our academic units and their teaching 
and research.  In order to do this, the campus administration will provide 
as much of the needed funds as possible.  By contributing campus reserves 
and other flexible funds, we will be able to furnish one-half of the total 
amount.  The other half will be provided by campus units reducing their 
expenditures.  We will protect the priority of our teaching, research, and 
public engagement missions by asking administrative and service units to 
reduce their expenditures for the year by 2.5% while academic units reduce 
their expenditures by 1.25%.  Because the University Library is central to 
the quality of the whole campus and there is a clear need for additional 
investment, the Library will not be required to cut its spending.  

	Second, we are trying to plan how to absorb a permanent budget cut 
next year in ways that protect our core missions, especially our ability to 
deliver the quality of education that brought you to this campus.  We have 
asked the deans and vice chancellors to consider how they can minimize any 
effects of permanent budget cuts on our programs of teaching and research. 
 We will work vigorously to increase fund-raising.  And finally, a proposal 
is being considered for increasing tuition next year by an additional 5%, 
or about $196 per year for undergraduates enrolled for a full program at 
the base tuition rate.  This increase would provide about one-fourth of the 
funds that we expect to lose to budget cuts next year.  The rationale for 
one-fourth is that tuition provides roughly one quarter of the university's 
funds that can be brought to bear on the budget problem.

	The idea of increasing tuition arose when it became clear that 
fund-raising, the campus administration, the colleges, and the 
administrative units cannot absorb the full budget cuts we are likely to 
face and at the same time protect our core missions to the extent we 
believe is essential.  There seems no alternative but to ask students to 
participate in a limited way in maintaining the quality of our programs.  
The increase that is proposed includes a plan to set aside almost 25% of 
the new tuition dollars for the purpose of providing increased financial 
aid to those who would see additional need as a result of the proposed 
raise in tuition. Such a set aside reflects our past policy and has proven 
very effective. 

	As you may know, many of our peer institutions face cuts deeper 
than ours.  The momentum that we have built up over the past several years 
may be slowed by these cuts in the short term, but we are determined that 
it will not stop.  To this end, we have just allocated funds from this 
year's tuition surcharge to the colleges.  With the advice of faculty and 
student advisory committees, we have provided support for new faculty 
positions, graduate fellowships, and advising.  

	Between now and March, when the Board of Trustees will vote on a 
tuition proposal, there will be a series of meetings with many student 
groups organized by Student Trustee Kelly and including other members of 
the student Tuition Policy Advisory Committee, who provided advice about 
allocating funds from the tuition surcharge and who have considered the 
university's financial situation in detail.  We also invite you to take 
part in these meetings and to offer your opinions and raise questions about 
matters of concern by e-mail to us at provost@uiuc.edu.
  
	We face serious challenges.  Working together, we believe these 
challenges can be met in a way that preserves the quality of your education 
and the special strengths of our university.  We look forward to discussing 
these matters in the coming dialogue about our financial situation and how 
best to deal with it.

Very truly yours,

Nancy Cantor            
Chancellor                 

Richard H. Herman
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Patricia E. Askew
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

 
This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

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