Current Roosevelt students can finish degrees in Schaumburg, officials say
Roosevelt University students beginning degree programs at the Schaumburg campus this fall will be able to complete them there, despite the school's plans to pull many of its programs out of the site, officials said Thursday.
That commitment provides a level of certainty that initially seemed missing last month when news of the relocation of many programs to Roosevelt's Chicago campus was announced in a letter from university President Chuck Middleton.
While the letter made clear that the successful College of Pharmacy would be staying in Schaumburg, it suggested that most other programs would likely leave - allowing much of the campus to be leased to other educational institutions or businesses.
Middleton's letter said the deadline for the full implementation of the plans was Dec. 31, 2014.
However, Assistant Vice President for Public Relations Tom Karow clarified Thursday that the end of the calendar year is when a review of long-term academic offerings at the Schaumburg campus - particularly science-oriented programs - will be completed.
"But students who begin their degree program at Schaumburg this fall will be able to complete it at Schaumburg," Karow said.
Middleton had said changes in the higher education industry were prompting the university's re-evaluation of the 18-year-old Schaumburg campus.
Others in the industry, including Illinois Board of Higher Education Executive Director James Applegate and Benedictine University Executive Vice President Charlie Gregory, agreed, saying the number of college-age students is falling in Illinois, and there is greater competition to recruit those students.