And like us on facebook, to get debate schedules, video clips on key moments, debate previews from our politics team. Cspan has brought you over 100 house and governor ship debates. You can instantly share what the candidates are saying, stay involved and engage by following us on twitter and facebook. Up next a conversation with University Illinois urbanachampagne provost, he spoke about some of the challenging facing Higher Education including student debt and campus safety. This is part of a recent series on cspans washington journal. Last were here on the american journal, we kicked off a month long series with University President s as part of cspan busses big ten tour. Aboard the bus today is the provost. Let me begin with what you see as the top changeses for Higher Education. Well, good morning. Its nice welcome to everybody to our campus. To talk challenges for Higher Education for where we sit in the middle of the prairie in the United States is the issue of access and affo affordabili affordability, trying to improve themselves in the world. Access and accessibility for young people to improve themselves in the world. Access and affordability. Because the cost of Higher Education has gone up over the last many years and now we have to figure out as a country, and as individual institutions how to make this affordable and accessible to young people, because education is transformational. Transformative experiences make a whole individual. Thats for citizens of every country, especially in a democratic environment. So how are you doing that then . How are you addressing this challenge of affordability and access . The university of illinois at urbana, champagne, tuition for instate is over 15,000, out of state is over 30,000, and room and board can come in at nearly 11,000. Yes, indeed. We are over the last many years, we are increased our effort in terms of Financial Aid. We have given over 70 million in Financial Aid. We have been going out to our friends and alumni trying to college bonds. Because the top reason, probably four or five regions, that students accept our invitation to join our family is the major problem is the decrease in state funding over the last many years for institutions like ours, so it behooves us, the leaders of Great Institutions like this to really go out and make the case to the country, to the state that education is top priority, especially Higher Education. When you look at the increase in employment, in Economic Development, for the country, education, especially Higher Education is critical to making it a country and bonded in times of human productivity, and the social environment of a country. So a major issue for us is making sure we have Financial Aid for students so we can bring everybody under the spectrum to the university of illinois. The annual budget for the university of illinois, 2 billion. Endowments you get about 2. 8 billion and alumni bringing in over 400,000. What role should the federal government play, do you think, sir, in providing Affordable CollegeUniversity Access to american students. I think a comment that trying presently in times of Student Loans, most Student Loans with the lower Interest Rates, that will be very good for the students, it will be very, very transformational for students to be able to get lower interest on the loan so that when they get out, it is lower than the national median. There is not a lot of debt on their head. Were very proud of our campus that we have a low default rate and also the loan on our students when they get out is lower than the national medium. So were very proud of that, but we believe that there is a role for the federal government to make a big impact on students, their families and the future of the country has a whole to be able to produce and give lower Interest Rates for students to come to partake of Higher Education, which is a bedrock, a bedrock of a democratic society. At the university of illinois at urbanachampagne, you have 191 student to faculty ratio, 150 undergrad majors, 84 sixyear Graduation Rate. So it takes over four years. 84 of students there are taking over three years to graduate. And in 2013, Research Expenditures over 123 million. What is your job placement record for those students who are graduating from the university of illinois . Very, very high. Very, very high, because over last year, we had over 8,500 companies visiting our campus. And probably more than 100 of the fortune 500 Companies Come to our campus, so the placement really is very, very high. We must show the specific number right now, but we are very sure that our talents, the talent that reported from the university of illinois are desirable, they are desired at a very high rate, and we bring best to the table what i call the workhorse and the racehorse of talent for this country. My understanding is that cspan is going through the big ten. We have a counter part, which is an official aspect of the big ten. We produce the largest number of talents for this country. What cspan is doing is terrific is exposing and bringing together the country in Economic Development in our society. And our goal here as part of this monthlong series of interviews with with University President s is to talk about the issues of Higher Education. And this morning our guest is the provost at the university of illinois. We want to invite our viewers to join in on this conversation. We divided the lines by students, parents, educators and illinois residents. Want to get to your concerns, if youre a student dial in at 2025853880. If youre a parent and youve got students heading to college, we want to know what your concerns are. How do you address the curriculum at the university of illinois to make sure that its aligned with job skills and what Companies Need in the workforce . Definitely. The fundamental role of a Public University is making sure that we train students for Critical Thinking and to partake of the society itself. I think just being a job shop is not something we wants to do. We want to make the fundamental and practice for a student to go out and be productive in society. We know that students will go through many jobs in their lifetime. How do you prepare them for that . Funding at a Major League Level for that, we have a great engineering school, we have a great business school. We have our own unique attributes of educating our students, but have the humanities, social sciences contribute to the aspects of training of students at a fundamental level, thats what university of illinois has been and Great Institutions like this are doing to make sure that opportunities are not only prepared for one job but are able to translate from job to job over their lifetimes. Thats our philosophy and im sure its the philosophy of other trade schools, specific schools that prepare students specifically for some type of jobs. But ours is to make sure that we prepare the whole individual to become leaders in society in whatever they choose to do. Okay, lets get to your calls. Tonys up first, a student in rosewood, california. Caller hi. I returned to school after not being in for quite some time and i go to a very nice university. And i agree with him that its very expensive and hes saying that hes looking forward to the federal government doing more. But theres also a limit on a lifetime limit on how much the government would help you because theres a new law in place that you can only get pell grants for so many years, so thats not helping people that went to school earlier, maybe like in the 90s or something and are returning to school now because now im on the limb on how much the federal government is going to help me. So i would like for you to address that. Thanks. Well, thank you very much for your call. I think as i mentioned previously, the main, the chancellor, myself, we have a foundation and were working very, very studiously to make sure we raise funds for people like you, we raise funds for scholarships, for grants, so that people can come here to the prairie and actually get a great education. Our fundamental issue is being able to raise those moneys and provide grants and scholarships to everybody that is interested in coming to the university of illinois. So as i mentioned previously, the funding over the last 20 years has been a little bit challenging for all of us, to stay the truth. But over a long time, youll find that Great Institutions have great foundations and are able to raise money to really help, to help and assist students because that is the fundamental thing that university and the fundamental aspirations of this institution itself. And on this issue of affordability, the daily illinois the daily newspaper had this headline, less illinois students are attending the University Due to cost. Dee in chicago, an illinois resident. Dee, youre on the air. Dee, listen through your phone, please. Turn your tv down. Go ahead, dee. Caller good morning. This is my first time thank you very much. Its been a pleasure. Im so proud of you. And god bless you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Caller we have a lot of students dont have parents or parents do not have good credit line and theyre declined for Student Loans. They have to drop out of college. What provisions do urban that champagne have for those kind of students in place . Well, in times of we do not like students dropping out of our institution, but the main thing is if we are able to connect the students, get to the students beforehand, were able to look at all the portfolio of funding that are available to the student. So, if you know any student that is in that particular situation, send them to my office, send them to the advisers because one thing that happens is that students are not aware of the resources on campus that can help them. So thats assistance we have to give to our students. We have financial literacy, how do you get fouryear training or sixyear training to the individual to be able to go to the university of illinois without owing too much because we are very, very aware of heavy burden of loan on students when they go out is not something that we want to encourage at all, but we have 76 rate fouryear Graduation Rate and 84 rate at six years. Were very proud of that. And my goal, as the provost, is actually to get that to 90 so that we can, we can really graduate students at a very high rate and really workhorse of this country which is a very great country. Go ahead there, a parent there in new jersey. Caller yeah. I think that Education Loan is up because these people in america are making profit from it. When i went to college, i went to Community College and i went to state college. My credit was 45, but now my children and my grandchildren, they are now paying over 200 credit in new jersey. I think what i am advising all americans who can vote to go out and vote for the party that will be receptive to the problem of this society. The people we have now, they are not receptive to the poor people. They are receptive to the wealthy people. That would be my advice. Okay. Lets take that point. Is the university of illinois more listening more and more intently to wealthy donors to wealthy people than it is to the minority and poor people who want to attend the school . Not at all, not at all. We listen to everybody. This is a public land grant university. Were created as such and we believe in that mission passionately because im a product of public education. Im originally from nigeria as you might have inferred from my name, but im a product of what you may call what land grant universities can do to an individual. So, we listen to everybody and try to reach people who want to donate here, we have to make sure that their volumes and priorities are aligned with the campuses. Thats critical for us. Because it is not just the money but the principles and the value, the core values that we hold deep as a Public Land Grant Institution that wants to have a Global Impact at a state level, local level, state level and globally. Thats ambition. Thats our vision and thats what were set to do. Lets go to john, bloomfield hills, a parent there. Go ahead, john. Caller yes. Good morning. I am a firsttime caller. Ive listened usually in the mornings. I have two children in college. I think its important to understand that theres a disconnect from what i believe universities are generally offering in terms of overall education that the guest was talking about and the requirement to get a job that pays. My one daughter at Michigan State university chose Construction Management over Veterinary Science because she knew she could get a wellpaying job and she just did get one. Another son going to Ohio Northern University is choosing Construction Management just because he knew that my daughter got a job doing that. Its so important for people to understand that you just cant go to get a soft degree today. You have to have employability. Well, we dont have soft degrees at university of illinois. We bring students here what i call raw, young minds and turn them into refined young minds when they leave here. Some people are very focussed on the type of job theyre going to get when they leave this place, but there are some students who are still trying to explore. Their own human being, aspects of themselves and take some time before they actually arrive at where they feel comfortable in life. So, we provide a spectrum of education as the chief academy officer of this campus, i believe in that. We give people what we call general education and if youre in engineering, you go out and specialize in your engineering degree, business. So we provide a spectrum of majors, activities, resources for students, study abroad, so we make the whole person, not just the first job, but the whole person for life. That is the function of public land grant universities, in my belief. Were talking with the provost at the university of illinois at urbana champagne. We kicked it off last week at the university of minnesota and went through week. And this week as well. Yesterday we talked to the president of the university of wisconsin of the wisconsin systems there and today were at the university of illinois and this tour will continue for a month long as we continue talking about Higher Education issues and that is our topic for all of you out there. What are your questions, your comments, your conditions with Higher Education . You can keep dialing in now. We have about 20 minutes left here. Well go to pat next in carbondale, illinois. Go ahead, pat. Caller yes, hi. Im calling in several regards. One is in particular the parentplus loans and how that affects parents and i have five children who i got through school. Two, one is in college now and one is about to go to college. Parentplus loan is set for parents to pay back. I think thats a tragedy in terms of how that is set up. Also for children applying to school, if youre middle income, they assume you have money to pay for college and you dont get all the benefits of Financial Aid in terms of you get loans but thats all your children can get. Im on my last child, hopefully hell get a full ride somewhere and we are considering your school, but we want to know what is actually out there for middle income people who they say have all this money, were paying house note, car notes and all that, what do we have that helps us to get our students through school . Well, were working very, very hard really. I mean, im sure its not only our institution that is doing this. Were working hard for the lower income and the middle income families to be able to afford college. Apart from the federal loan, state loan and the money that we try to supplement without grants and scholarship from the campus, we dont have enough. We dont really have enough. Weve been going to what i usually call our grate and grateful alumni to be build up our portfolio to help people like your family to come to the university of illinois. This is something that we are doing. We are making sure that the increase in tuition is held at the inflation rate making sure that people can really afford school. Its a pity. I went to school and a Fouryear College after that. And i i know at that time, the Institution Rate was very, very low. But with the current state of the economy, the current state of the economy and decrease to a large extent in the state funding has been very, very critical to increase a little bit of the institution to be able to maintain the excellence and teaching capability of our institutions. So, i main focus now is making sure that we raise funds for scholarship, for grants, and making sure that we bring your kids and my kids also to a Great Institution that prepares them for a lifelong learning,