The Honors Program became an Honors College, artificial turf for O’Brien Stadium got moved one step closer to approval and an advance enrollment deposit program was implemented at Monday’s meeting of Eastern’s Board of Trustees.

Herb Lasky, director of the Honors Program, and Blair Lord, vice president for academic affairs, spent the fall semester discussing the idea of an Honors College with campus constituents.

The idea won support from the Faculty Senate and the Council on Academic Affairs.

Lord told the Board that the change would essentially be in name only to add prestige to the program and compete with other honors programs in the state.

“This is not an organizational structure change,” Lord said.

Western Illinois University, which Lord called a close competitor with Eastern, recently turned its honors program into a college. The change at Western involved more structural alterations, while the change at Eastern will be limited to letterhead, signs and Lasky’s title — he will become dean.

Lasky and Lord have come to the consensus that the current size of the Honors Program is ideal and no efforts will be made to boost honors enrollment.

The proposal submitted to the Board stated, “Creation of an Honors College will facilitate institutional development and fund raising activities in direct support of its Honors Programs.”

Students who are enrolled in the Honors College will still be considered students in the college of their major, Lord said.

Lord and Lasky are currently working to determine when the name change will actually take place. Whether that occurs this semester or next won’t affect current honors students’ classes. The program stays the same, and those who completed it have the distinction noted on their transcripts, and that will stay the same, Lord said.

Under the heading of non-instructional capital improvement projects, the board unanimously approved a proposal to install a fire sprinkler system in University Court apartments.

Eastern has been working to install fire sprinkler systems in all its wood frame buildings and has already done so in Pemberton Hall and Greek Court, said interim President Lou Hencken. The board approved the proposal, which now goes to the Illinois Board of Higher Education for approval. If and when the IBHE approves the project, Eastern can solicit bids. Once one is chosen, the Board will vote on the expenditure. Cooley said he fully expects the IBHE to approve the project, estimated to cost $1.2 million. Five buildings are expected to be worked on during summer 2003 and the remaining work should be completed in summer 2004.

Next year’s incoming freshmen will pay a $150 deposit to secure their spot at Eastern by May 1. The move is designed to help manage enrollment, predict and plan for class size. So far, Illinois State University is the only public university in Illinois to implement the program and has reported success, Lord said.

The deposit is not a new fee, as $40 will cover an orientation fee and the other $110 will go toward tuition. For that reason, student trustee Marty Ruhaak, student vice president for public affairs, said he supported the idea on behalf of the student body.

To give the deposit requirement “teeth,” the approved proposal includes a clause giving Eastern the authority to give only limited refunds to those who do not choose to attend Eastern.

While that policy is still not finalized, Lord said that what a committee has come up with so far is a full refund for students who pay and decide not to attend before May 1, a partial refund for those who decide not to attend by June 1, and no refund for students who decide not to attend after June 1. The committee was comprised of a group of administrators in enrollment, admissions and registration who work regularly with registering new students, Lord said.

Spring semester applicants must pay the deposit by Nov. 15, but transfer students do not have to pay any deposit.

Hencken said current application numbers exceed where they were at this time last year. Eastern has received 7,734 freshman and transfer applications for next fall. At this time last year, it had 6,277 and in 2001, it had 4,867.

The board approved three purchase items exceeding $250,000. The first is a $1.7 million payment of group insurance for fiscal year 2002. In the winter of 2001, then-governor George Ryan asked all state universities to pay for their own employee insurance as part of a mid-year budget recision to a total of $45 million. Universities were asked to do the same again this year.

The other is a $550,000 contract with Teng & Associates of Chicago to upgrade the campus network infrastructure. The sluggish network has been a complaint of many students and staff, as Faculty Senate Chair Anne Zahlan, an English professor, noted in her constituent report.

The work included will be mainly design services, Cooley said. That includes taking an inventory of the machines currently in use and drawing up designs for new structure. Cooley estimated that the initial design work ought to be complete by mid-March and and his office should have an idea of the cost of the work by April. Then solicitation of funds will begin.

The IBHE did not set aside capital improvement project funding for the upgrade, so Cooley said the university will seek bond funding, a loan of sorts backed by the full faith and credit of the university and paid with tuition dollars. Money will not come out of the operating budget, Cooley said.

He expects construction to begin in middle to late summer and last about 12 months.

Certain faculty have expressed concern that inside sources of technological expertise, like technology faculty, were not tapped for consulting services, Zahlan said.

The board also approved a contract not to exceed $400,000 with Ruffalo Cody of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to provide telemarketing services for Eastern’s annual fund drive. Cooley said this is Eastern’s first time using a professional group for telemarketing services.

With the aid of a telemarketing firm, Cooley hopes to contact many more alumni for the annual fund-raising drive. University staff usually took on the task after hours, but this way Cooley said more people can be reached and more partnerships formed.

“We’re building long-term relationships as well,” Cooley said.