As part of an effort to cut costs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, top officials announced today their recommendation to shut down the Institute of Aviation.
The 54-year-old program provides students with pilot certification as well as degrees in aviation human factors, a psychology-based discipline that focuses on improving the safety of airplanes and pilots.
It is the first academic program recommended for elimination under the "Stewarding Excellence" process to find ways to reduce costs and generate more revenue. The faculty senate and board of trustees would have to agree before it is discontinued.
The relatively small program has 156 undergraduate and graduate students this fall, and officials said they will be allowed to complete their studies. Closing the program will save at least $500,000 to $750,000 a year, but it could take years before those savings are realized, said Interim Chancellor Robert Easter, who co-wrote the letter announcing the recommendation.
"From our perspective, this is what we have to do," Easter told the Tribune. He said there has not been "enormous pushback" to the decision, adding that "there is a general understanding of the challenges we are facing."
The Institute of Aviation submitted a letter to officials earlier this year advocating retention of the program. The unsigned six-page letter argued that there would be no cost savings, a unique program would be lost, more than 60 employees would lose their jobs and it would negatively affect the local Willard community airport.
Easter said officials looked into whether the human factors degree programs could transfer to another college, such as engineering, but so far no home has been found for them. He also said the non-degree pilot certification program could continue if there is a way to make it self-supporting.
U. of I. and other public universities have been struggling with delayed payments from the state, leading to furloughs, pay freezes and other cost-cutting measures.
