University of Illinois employees weren't shocked at news of furloughs Tuesday, and some expect things to get worse before they get better.

The furlough program, announced Tuesday, will save only about $17 million, despite a $436 million shortfall from the state. Other cuts will have to come from salary and hiring freezes and, potentially, job cuts.

The UI earlier set aside $20 million in reserves, and in November told units to cut expenses by 6 percent, saving an additional $45 million.

Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Walter Knorr said, the UI is losing millions of dollars in interest income by borrowing from its own funds rather than lending that money out.

"At some point we will be unable to meet payroll and complete the academic year unless there are significant payments from the state as promised," interim President Stanley Ikenberry told faculty members Tuesday.

State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, said she was not optimistic that the state government would find any new funding for the UI soon.

"I know that the university has done its best to avoid doing (furloughs), but I spoke to one UI employee today who said 'I'd rather have a furlough than lose my job or see other people losing their jobs,'" she said.

Several faculty members at the UI sighed loudly when discussing the cuts Tuesday.

Senate Executive Committee Chairwoman Joyce Tolliver said faculty members had been consulted in mid-December.

"My personal feeling is it's a shame the state has not been able to fulfill its obligation (to students) to fund higher education," she said.

Another faculty Senate leader, Nicholas Burbules, said faculty members need to understand budget issues more comprehensively.

He hoped leaders would "start looking forward to current and foreseeable problems, and make some changes now so we don't have to go through this again."

Landscape architecture department head M. Elen Deming said the furloughs don't "come as a shock; we've been prepared for several months."

Deming said department heads would be meeting over the next 24 hours to come up with plans.

French department head Karen Fresco said it was too soon to say exactly how the furloughs could affect teaching loads or class size.

She said talking to other Big Ten professors gave her some perspective on the issues facing the UI.

"In (Liberal Arts and Sciences), we have a strong feeling our dean is doing everything she can to protect the core mission of the college," Fresco said.

Under the furlough plan, the highest-ranking employees will take 10 days off, while those making under $30,000, contract employees and graduate employees will be exempt.

Other savings will come from a salary and hiring freeze, though Ikenberry said exceptions could be made in a case of a raid on faculty from other universities, or a clearly unfair salary.

Ikenberry said the chancellors, deans and other top administrators will take a total of 10 furlough days, or two days a month, beginning in February and lasting through the pay period ending June 15.

Faculty members and academic professional staff will take a total of four furlough days, beginning in February and lasting through the pay period ending on May 15, about one day per month.

Coaches will also take four days, as will physicians at the UI-Chicago and some other classes of employees.

The four days would amount to roughly a 2 percent pay cut, Knorr said.

In all, about 11,000 faculty and academic professionals would take furloughs, along with about 75 administrators, Knorr said. But he said the cuts might not be enough to stave off other cuts.

Ikenberry held out a slim hope that the state would come up with appropriations, overdue since July, and that furloughs could be minimized or employees potentially reimbursed. But, he added, "That does not appear to be a practical reality."

Halfway through the fiscal year, the UI has received 7 percent of its total state appropriation. With no clear budget solution in sight for the state, it appears the university will be coping with a cash crisis for some time, Ikenberry said.

"We needed to act now, rather than two or three months from now," he said.

The university has gone through tough budgetary times, Ikenberry said, but nothing this extreme.

"This is unprecedented," he said. "We've never had to take the measure of doing furloughs. Frankly, I hope that we will not walk that path again."

WHAT OFFICIALS ARE SAYING

The News-Gazette asked University of Illinois officials several questions Tuesday about furloughs and other spending cuts. Here are the responses from UI chief spokesman Tom Hardy and Chief Financial Officer Walter Knorr:

How many administrators and other leaders are included in the 10-day furloughs? How much money does this save?

About 75 to 80 top officials are included in the 10-day furlough group, which accounts for about $1 million of the $17 million in furlough savings.

How many professors and academic employees face four-day furloughs, and what will that save?

The vast majority of the 11,000 employees furloughed make up this category. Faculty and academic professionals are subject to the furlough provisions as a result of changes made to the annual notice of appointment in 2009. Civil service employees are handled according to the provisions of their negotiated contracts. Also, some academic professionals and faculty are exempted if they earn less than $30,000 or they are paid under a grant or contract.

How many employees earn less than $30,000?

There are 146 such academic professionals.

What do state civil service rules say about furloughs and wage reductions?

Civil service employees don't have a provision for furloughs. But under their negotiated agreements, there are rules for temporary or permanent layoffs.

Will some jobs (such as academic professionals) be eliminated? What criteria will the UI use to determine which jobs are essential and which are not?

Jobs that are front-line or core to missions of teaching, research and patient care, for example, are more essential, probably, than some administrative or other support roles, although we consider everyone working at the university as providing value to making sure that it operates at a high level. Administrators and other support role staff provide services that enable faculty and researchers to do their jobs, and for students and their families to get the services and benefits they pay for.

Does it make sense for senior UI faculty-staff to retire?

The UI is in early discussions on possible incentives for early departure.

To read more about furloughs, university finances and more, go to the UI's Web site at http://hr.uillinois.edu (click on "Interim University Policy on Furloughs")

10-DAY FURLOUGH POSITIONS

University Administration

— President
— Interim President Designate
— Vice President for Technology and Economic Development
— Vice President/Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller
— Senior Associate Vice President for Business & Finance
— Associate Vice President for Planning & Budgeting
— Associate Vice President for AITS
— Associate Vice President for Capital Programs & Real Estate Services
— University Counsel
— Secretary, Board of Trustees
— Executive Director for University Relations
— Executive Director for Governmental Relations
— Executive Director, University Audits

Urbana/Champaign campus

— Chancellor
— Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
— Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
— Vice Chancellor for Research
— Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement
— Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement / Sr. VP UIF
— Dean, College of Agricultural, Consumer, & Environmental Sciences
— Dean, College of Applied Health Sciences
— Dean / Assoc. Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Business
— Dean, College of Media
— Dean, College of Education
— Dean, College of Engineering
— Dean, College of Fine and Applied Arts
— Dean, Graduate College
— Dean, College of Law
— Dean, Graduate School of Library and Information Science
— Dean, School of Social Work
— Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
— Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
— Director, Beckman Institute of Advanced Science & Technology
— Director, Institute of Aviation
— Director, School of Labor and Employment Relations
— University Librarian and Dean of Libraries

Chicago Campus

— Chancellor
— Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
— Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services
— Vice Chancellor for Research
— Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
— Vice Chancellor for External Affairs
— Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
— Vice Chancellor for Development / Sr. VP of UI Foundation
— Dean, College of Architecture & The Arts
— Dean, College of Applied Health Sciences
— Dean, College of Business Administration
— Dean, College of Dentistry
— Dean, College of Education
— Dean, College of Engineering
— Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
— Dean, College of Medicine
— Dean, College of Nursing
— Dean, College of Pharmacy
— Dean, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
— Dean, School of Public Health
— Dean, Jane Addams College of Social Work
— Dean, Honors College
— Dean of the Graduate College
— University Librarian

Springfield Campus

— Chancellor
— Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
— Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
— Dean, College of Business & Management
— Dean, College of Education & Human Services
— Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
— Dean, College of Public Affairs & Administration
— University Librarian & Dean, Library Instructional Services
— Executive Director, Center for State Policy and Leadership
— Other Senior Administrators Identified by the President
— President, University of Illinois Foundation
— President, CEO and Publisher, University of Illinois Alumni Association
— CEO Health Care System
— CEO/Managing Director, University of Illinois Ventures
— Senior Director, Illinois Ventures
— Special Assistant to the President
— Director of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics