Illinois State administrators want community input in a new long-range Financial Plan. (Stephanie Pawlowski/WJBC)

By Sarah Beckman

NORMAL - Opinions about Illinois State University's academic and financial goals and expectations will be taken next week at an open financial forum.

School administrators are taking input on the new long-range Financial Plan on Tuesday, Jan. 29 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Dan Layzell, Vice President for Finance and Planning, said the plan comes on the heels of the state's poor financial state.

"The state has had some pretty serious financial issues and will continue to do so," said Layzell. "This has an impact on not just ISU but all public universities. We see this is an opportunity to solve the problems that took a long time to develop."

The university's finances, however remain strong. Layzell said the university still has room for improvement.

"It's a great opportunity for us to chart a longer range of financial future for the university," said Layzell.

A web-based survey for campus input will also go live on the same day as the forum.

"The web survey is a good way for us to solicit input from all members of the campus community," Layzell said.

The open forum will be held in the Prairie Room of the Bone Student Center. The web survey can be found at ilstu.edu.