In the News

Daily Herald, January 22, 2007

SPRINGFIELD — Harper College faces an uphill battle in its quest to become the first two-year school in Illinois to offer bachelor’s degrees, officials say.

For one, state law has to change.

And, Harper officials say, so does the way people think about community college education in Illinois.

Harper has taken its cause to the state capital, with lobbyist Phil Burdick at the helm. He spent 13 years as a television news writer and producer, but over the past few years he has been transformed into Harper’s political muscle, bringing with him to Springfield a calming demeanor.

Yet alongside him — and really leading the charge from the start — is Harper President Robert Breuder, who has a fiery passion for the idea that can border on abrasive when met with opposition. “Neanderthal” is what he calls university officials who oppose the idea, comparing them to immature children by saying they don’t want anyone else to “play in their sandbox.” He predicts he’ll force listeners “into a fetal position” by the passion and strength of his argument.

Harper College President Robert Breuder, center, walks with St. Petersburg College President Carl Kuttler, right, and Thomas Furlong, head of St. Petersburg’s bachelor’s degree programs, after speaking before a legislative committee on college issues at the state Capitol in Springfield. (Gilbert R. Boucher II)

A degree of hope

Opponents say the plan would weaken the foundation of the state’s community college system — created in 1965 to make sure education was within easy reach of every resident. These colleges are primarily funded through local property taxes rather than the tuition, state tax dollars and foundation funding that four-year universities depend on.

In fact, none of the leaders of community colleges that are neighbors to Harper — Lake County, DuPage, Elgin and Oakton Community Colleges — back the idea, with some worried it could erode their core missions.

But leaders at the Palatine school say they’ll keep pressing to have the law changed so they and other two-year colleges can one day offer bachelor’s degrees.

The Daily Herald accompanied four officials — two from Harper and two from a Florida community college that’s been offering four-year degrees — on a three-day lobbying trip to Springfield.

At the end, all admitted one thing: The college still faces many hurdles.

“It’s maddeningly slow,” Burdick said. “We’re taking it one step at a time, one legislator at a time.”

A three-day mission

At 3 p.m. on a cloudy Monday, Burdick is sitting in the lobby of the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center in Springfield.

Having just finished an airport run where he picked up the president and a vice president from St. Petersburg College in Florida, he’s taking a breather before heading back to the airport to shuttle Harper President Breuder to their hotel.

It promises to be a whirlwind three days as Breuder and officials from the Florida school are set to make the case for four-year degrees before the Task Force on Community Colleges, which is made up of lawmakers and educators. In between, there will be day and night meetings with individual legislators.

Most importantly, says Breuder, is a meeting set up with a Kankakee Community College vice president — the first official from another two-year institution to ever sit down with Harper and gather information on their four-year degree idea.

Burdick also will go door-to-door in his downtime to pitch the plan.

“We are very realistic about how difficult this is for some lawmakers to accept,” he said.

Quickly, though, the best-laid plans change, as Breuder’s flight is canceled until the following morning, landing minutes before the hearing begins.

Burdick heads out to dinner with Carl Kuttler, president of St. Petersburg College, and Thomas Furlong, who heads up the college’s baccalaureate programs. There’s already a reservation at a downtown restaurant, Sebastian’s Hideout, where Breuder was supposed to eat and mingle with lawmakers on the eve of the hearing.

The Florida college is a national leader when it comes to offering four-year degrees, and currently has 15 programs ranging from dental hygiene to banking. Burdick has made it clear he wants to show off the Florida officials and use them as a resource for people to learn more about the plan.

In exchange, Harper has picked up the cost of their trip, from the $964 plane tickets to hotel rooms to meals.

State Sen. John Millner, a Carol Stream Republican, joins the group at a candlelit table. They’re sitting among handfuls of other politicians, offering quick handshakes and smiles every couple minutes.

“We just need the legislators to see the light,” Burdick tells the group.

State Rep. Suzie Bassi, a Palatine Republican, also is part of the group. Although she’s already a supporter of Harper’s plan, Bassi grills the Florida officials, wanting to know how they pushed the idea though the state legislature and what kind of obstacles they found along the way.

“It’s absolutely going to be successful here,” Bassi predicts.

One person notably absent is newly elected state Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican. He’s also a Harper College trustee and has always been against the four-year plan.

Still, the group leaves the restaurant feeling energized and confident. Burdick picks up the $198 dinner tab on Harper, and the party breaks up.

Tomorrow is a big day.

4-year idea launched

Harper College’s board approved the idea of going after four-year degree programs in 2002. From there, they began trying to change a state law banning community colleges from offering four-year degrees. The plan was narrowly approved by a House committee last February but went no further before the legislative session ended.

Harper officials say once they re-introduce the plan this month in the House, they hope it will get enough support to move over to the Senate either this year or next.

Burdick says he hopes the lobbying trip creates buzz with legislators going into this new session.

“This is the way we need to approach education today,” he says. “When people try to buck the system and go forward with new ideas, we get all of this pushback. Higher education isn’t very progressive.”

If the bill becomes law, Harper would start offering four-year degrees in public safety administration and technology management.

Officials say Harper’s proposed bachelor degree pilot program would be funded by tuition and corporate donations.

It’s estimated to cost $2 million over four years. About $660,000 of that would come from tuition and the rest from corporate donations and Harper’s foundation. Officials say no property tax dollars would be used.

After the four-year trial, Burdick says the college would start looking for state funding.

Is it a ‘slam dunk’?

The hearing of the newly formed community college task force is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The day’s agenda leaves little free time. First, there’s the hearing in front of the task force, then lunch with Stanley Ikenberry, the former University of Illinois president. After that, there’s a meeting at the Illinois Community College Board. Then Kuttler and Furlong will fly back to Florida.

By 9:15, Breuder’s United Airlines flight has landed at Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport and he’s rushing to make it to the meeting.

“Just watch,” he says in the car en route to the hearing. “My passion and intensity for this subject absolutely makes them go into a fetal position.”

About 20 minutes later he is testifying before the task force, made up of trustees from several community colleges, students and lawmakers. It’s co-chaired by state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat who co-sponsored Harper’s bill with Bassi.

“Community colleges have gone through a metamorphosis,” Breuder tells the task force members. “If the community has changed, so should the community college.”

He says the intense opposition in Illinois is no different than what happened in the 14 other states that now allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees.

“Some people have a closed mind about this,” he says. “They are unwilling to accept the fact that a community college can do this.”

Kuttler and Furlong talk about how their bachelor degree program has taken off, even more than they expected. One of the benefits, they say, is that the college is charging 30 percent less tuition than the neighboring universities.

“This has moved far beyond what we ever thought,” Kuttler says. “This is the single most rewarding thing I have done in 28 years.”

He says that in Florida, the four-year schools were against the idea at first.

Breuder does seem to give task force members something to think about. But are they convinced?

“It’s almost like this is a slam dunk and we’re really foolish not to do this,” says Sen. David Luechtefeld, a Republican on the task force from Okawville.

However, he questions the quality of a community college education compared to a state university.

“This is not rocket science, that’s what drives me crazy,” Breuder says after the hearing.

Ikenberry, who was president at the University of Illinois from 1979 to 1995, is at the task force hearing on an unrelated matter. Burdick is excited to sit down with him and talk about his ideas. But Ikenberry tells him after the meeting that he can’t make it to lunch after all. He has to be in Champaign in two hours.

Ikenberry is reluctant to give an opinion of Harper’s plan, but clearly does not want to publicly endorse it.

“I am not able to take a position regarding the proposed change in Harper College’s mission to offer four year baccalaureate degrees,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Daily Herald. “Given my former role as president of the University of Illinois, I should not do so.”

Breuder, though, says he doesn’t see the missed lunch opportunity as a snub. Later, he says university presidents in Illinois are “Neanderthal” in their way of thinking, which is why they aren’t buying into the bachelor degree idea.

“It’s their sandbox and they don’t want anyone in it,” he says.

Lack of support

None of the other 38 community colleges in Illinois has joined Harper to fight for bachelor degrees.

Both Burdick and Breuder acknowledge this is a problem.

Breuder says other college presidents have privately told him they support the four-year idea but won’t take a public stand on it.

None of the leaders from suburban Chicago community colleges say they support this plan. Many agree there’s a need for more programs, but are not interested in offering them because it deviates from the mission of what a community college is supposed to do — help people get two-year degrees.

Breuder accuses his fellow community college presidents of wanting to leave things as they are and not “stir the pot.”

The president’s fellow community college colleagues aren’t the only ones opposed to the plan. This idea has drawn strong opposition from tax watchdogs.

Bill Huley, president of Northwest Tax Watch, says offering bachelor’s degrees isn’t fair to taxpayers in Harper College’s district.

“A community college should be a community college and not more than that,” he says. “There are plenty of other universities here.”

Huley says that despite the pretty picture Harper paints, it will cost taxpayers.

“Property taxpayers should not be in the business of supporting four-year colleges,” he said. “Once you get the foot in the door with one curriculum, where do you stop?”

Sen. Matt Murphy agrees. He plans to step down this month from the Harper board, having just been sworn in as state senator to replace Wendell Jones in the 27th District.

Murphy says he’d rather see Harper partner with four-year schools to offer bachelor degrees to save costs.

What’s next?

State Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, plans to sponsor Harper’s proposal once it gets to the Senate, but she knows it’s a tough sell.

“I am behind it because I firmly believe that many students don’t have the resources to go away to a four-year school and pay for room and board,” she said. “Many can only attend college if they stay at home and sometimes even work.”

Garrett acknowledges that the four-year schools are seeing this as a “mission creep,” or Harper trying to step on their toes.

“The four-year schools have their mission, and they believe the traditional way of going to college suits students,” she said. “But demographics have changed dramatically.”

On top of that, she says more and more adults today are returning to the classroom to further their education. And with families and a permanent residence, it’s not that easy to go away for a degree anymore, she says.

Officials at Harper estimate that it’s a five-year process to get their plan passed into law.

Whether the Palatine school will be allowed to offer bachelor degrees by the end of 2007 won’t be answered until the next legislative session is under way.

“All we’re looking for right now is some positive acknowledgment that this should not be shunned,” Burdick said. “The college board knows this is a long haul.”