UI suspends discovery courses due to state budget impasse

The University has temporarily suspended funding for fall 2016 Firsty-Year Discovery Program courses.

The program, which was started in 1994, was intended to help students “enhance their education through greater interaction with faculty in small classes,” the Provost’s website states.

The site adds that the courses also give faculty the opportunity to share their research in a specific field with students.

Robin Kaler, campus spokeswoman, said the program was temporarily suspended due to the state budget impasse. The state reached 140 days without a budget on Thursday; the budget standstill has caused programs across the state to suspend services or close and is threatening the livelihood of some state colleges.

Though the University is in a better position than schools such as Eastern Illinois University or Chicago State University, it is not unaffected by the budget uncertainty. 

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“This is one action among many that the campus has taken in response to the budget impasse. Significantly, we’ve already reduced $20 million of administrative costs across the campus,” Kaler said. “In addition, we’re also looking closely at all discretionary spending to preserve as much of our funding as possible during this time of budget uncertainty.”

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