The Council on University Planning and Budget Friday discussed a plan to deal with a possible 5 to 10 percent budget cut.

The CUPB will divide into four groups to analyze the university’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The analysis will initiate a renewal of the university’s financial planning.

“Before we go forward, we need to know where we are now,” interim President Lou Hencken said.

A final budget planning document will be completed for the CUPB meeting in May. The council, along with other university committees and councils, will influence what goes in to the final draft.

The end result will be a formal plan to prepare the university for the state of Illinois’ budget. The planning is considered an action plan to allow Eastern to respond more quickly to requests, especially from state legislators.

The CUPB also heard a report from Eastern’s Legislative Action Team. The team lobbied in Springfield last Wednesday.

Hencken, along with several other state university presidents, also was present in Springfield. He said every school in the state wants something from Springfield.

“I was very proud of our representation,” Hencken said. “It was impossible to miss us.” Hencken also gave a report on four state congressional bills progressing through Springfield. The bills deal with income funds, line-item budgeting, capping tuition and fixed tuition.

The fixed tuition bill is moving rapidly through Springfield, Hencken said. The bill sets tuition for an incoming freshmen so the tuition will remain the same throughout the student’s college career.

A set budget for the university will be needed if the line-item budgeting bill is passed. In years past, the university has had a 2-percent margin to move parts of the budget around.

The other two bills deal with the return of the university’s income to Springfield and the capping of tuition for incoming students.

“If you cut tuition, it cuts academic quality,” Hencken said.

The bills have all been introduced but are not guaranteed to pass, with the possibility of being amended or completely rejected.