In an attempt to save money at the cash-strapped University, the Institute of Aviation may be phased out until it can be closed permanently.

According to an e-mail from the Office of the Chancellor, the decision to discontinue flight certifications would save the University between $500,000 and $750,000, with possible additional savings.

The e-mail comes following a Stewarding Excellence @ Illinois review of the Institute of Aviation, which initially proposed to close the Institute on Sept. 28, 2010. The Stewarding Excellence project team made the final suggestion after no other academic programs committed to taking over the institute’s degree program, citing that they were not yet financially feasible.

Initially, the University Senate was open to creating a non-degree flight training and certification program as an alternative to shutting down the institute in its entirety. The Senate asked the Illinois Business Consulting Group to evaluate the “marketability” of a self-supporting, non-degree certification program.

After further analysis from the consulting group, however, the level of student demand to support the expansion of a flight certification program was deemed insufficient, paralleling the increasing decline in program enrollment. With flight fees estimated at $32,000, student willingness to invest in pilot certification was not strong enough to support the continuation of such a program.

The consulting group then suggested that a new Light Sport Pilot Certification program might present other alternatives to shutting down the institute completely, but the Senate Committee on Educational Policy, the Academic Senate and the Board of Trustees determined such an option as not feasible at this time, according to a Next Steps letter from Chancellor and Interim Provost Robert Easter and Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Richard Wheeler.

“We are proud of the prestigious history of the Institute of Aviation and of the contributions its employees, students and alumni have made to the field,” Easter and Wheeler said in the letter.

The Senate will hear the new proposal to close the Institute jointly with the initial September 2010 proposal. The date of the hearing has yet to be determined.

The date, time and location, once finalized, will be made public to the campus so those who are interested can attend and provide their comments.

The Office of the Chancellor expressed its commitment in helping the institute making the transition in the closing remarks of its letter.

“We will honor all of our obligations to our employees,” Easter and Wheeler said. “We are committed to providing them with support and assistance as we move through this transition.”