Eastern needs to increase its competitiveness and stop complaining about next year’s budget, said Keith Sanders, executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, at Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting.

“We are in a very good situation with the governor’s recommendation, and don’t whine about it. Just say thank you,” Sanders told the Faculty Senate and about 15 attendees, including Eastern President Carol Surles.

Sanders said Eastern will receive the highest increase in state appropriations for fiscal year 2001, and in combination with state grants and strategic incentives, Eastern will receive an 8.5 percent increase if the governor’s recommendations are approved.

“This is the best budget in the history of EIU, ” Sanders said.

The governor’s budget recommendation must be approved by the General Assembly before enacted.

“I don’t think we are going to get the governor’s budget in full, but we will get most of it,” Sanders said. “The legislatures are nervous about the slowing economy, but not too nervous.”

Sanders said the governor’s capitol budget recommendation, which Eastern’s new $40 million Fine Arts Center is a part of, totals $445,000.

“That is the largest amount I can ever remember, and we are happy to get that money,” Sanders said.

Sanders said Eastern is not competing against universities that are taking students away from Illinois public enrollments.

He said one competitor is “for-profit capitalized universities that take students from the traditional universities.”

“Just 15 miles down the road, Franklin University of Ohio is offering courses at Lake Land Community College. They are taking your students,” Sanders said.

“Eastern has everything going for it – brand name, reputation and history,” Sanders said. “You’re not offering programs of study at Lake Land just 15 miles down the road, but Franklin from Ohio is.

Another competitor Sanders said is online-education universities such as Devry and University of Phoenix.

“As uncomfortable as you may be with it, using online education to supplement on-campus learning and as an outreach tool can be part of the solution without sacrificing quality or the university mission,” Sanders said.

“The IBHE believes the best education you can get is an on-campus experience. For me, when I was a undergraduate, it was akin to a religious experience,” he said. “However, there are a whole lot of people who have missed out on the opportunity for that experience, and the only way for them to finish a bachlorets program is through distance education. We need to facilitate that.”

With the implementation of the Illinois Virtual Campus, a database of online courses offered by Illinois public universities, Sanders said the IBHE is going to compete with universities like the University of Phoenix.

“They cannot compete if we choose to compete, and we will compete,” Sanders said.

He said it was wonderful that Eastern has about 16 courses offered on the Illinois Virtual Campus and that more are on the way.

“The board is saying `If you want to compete, we will help you,'” Sanders said. “We will offer the coordination needed.”

Sanders also addressed the issue of faculty salaries.

“Under the urging of people like your President Surles, I made bringing Illinois faculty salaries up to the national prevailing wage priority No. 1,” Sanders said.

Last year’s IBHE plan of “3+1+1” to increase salaries was not too successful in raising salaries substantially, Sanders said.

The program guaranteed a 4 percent state appropriated increase in salaries if the individual university would match that with 1 percent.

For fiscal year 2002, the IBHE implemented a 3+2+1 program in which the state will allocate a 5 percent salary increase and the university will match that with a 1 percent increase for a 6 percent total increase.

“We are intent on pursuing this moving target,” Sanders said, referring to the low salaries of Illinois faculty. “If this doesn’t work, we will go to a 3+3+1 program. You can take that to the bank.”

Improving faculty benefits may take longer.

“I can only ride one tiger at a time,” Sanders said.