Four-year degrees possibly coming to Harper College through NIU

SPRINGFIELD - A bachelor's degree program could soon be coming to Harper College but the degrees reportedly will be awarded by Northern Illinois University rather than by the Palatine community college.

State Sen. Michael Noland said Thursday he's learned of an agreement between Harper and NIU, where the DeKalb-based university would run a bachelor's degree program at Harper's suburban campus. The Elgin Democrat is sponsor of a proposal giving Harper authority to award bachelor's degrees on its own.

For now, Noland said, he'll stick his plan in a drawer.

"I'm going to give peace a chance and allow them to sit down and work it out amongst themselves. If they are not able to do that, we will run the bill in the fall," Noland said.

A message left with Harper spokesman Phil Burdick was not immediately returned Thursday evening.

Lawmakers are scheduled to finish their spring session Sunday, but because the House already approved Harper's bachelor's program, Noland can ask for approval during the fall session.

"We'll get the job done. I think we've got the votes. I think that's what brought Northern to the table to at least make overtures it will provide the program working with Harper," Noland said, pledging to watch developments over the summer. "I want to make sure that Northern is going to be coming to the table sooner as opposed to later and get a firmer understanding of what their position is and what their understanding of the agreement is."

"I'd like to see us come up with a framework of what is expected here before session closes," Noland said.

A similar agreement between Harper and NIU fell apart last year.

Noland's proposal would allow Harper to award applied science bachelor's degrees in public safety administration/homeland security and technology management. State Sen. Pamela Althoff, a McHenry Republican, said it would create opportunities for suburban workers to develop new skills and find new jobs.

But that plan ran into strong opposition in the state Senate, because critics claim it would change the mission of community colleges in Illinois. State Sen. Dan Cronin, an Elmhurst Republican, said he'd look at stripping community colleges of their property tax authority if they implement four-year programs on their own.