The College of Engineering is considering discontinuing the Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE) department as part of restructuring efforts to save money.

A committee of faculty members is examining the future of the NPRE department, said David Daniel, dean of the College of Engineering. Options are still vague, but enrollment in the NPRE department has been low, leading administrators to question the department's future, said Mark Kushner, coordinator for the committee.

However, Jim Stubbins, head of the NPRE department, believes that enrollment is not a fundamental issue.

"We're twice the enrollment this year as we were two years ago," Stubbins said. "It's not as if we don't have a quality program here."

The University's NPRE department is ranked 3rd in the nation for graduate studies and 5th in the nation for undergraduate studies by U.S. News and World Report. Some faculty and students say eliminating the department will hurt college's quality and prestige.

"In Illinois, we're the only nuclear program there is," Stubbins said. "We think the state of Illinois should have one really good program and we think that should be us."

Some faculty said they feel that the college is not providing necessary encouragement and assistance for the NPRE department.

"A lot of this has come about as a slow degradation of support for NPRE department that has been going on for years," said Daniel Hang, professor emeritus in NPRE department.

Stubbins said, "We're committed to keeping the quality of the program up, but we need the support of the college and administration to do that."

But Daniel said no one has denied the demand for education in that field.

"There unquestionably is a need for nuclear engineers in the nation," he said.

Hang also acknowledged the budget problems facing the college.

"Right now it would cost a lot of money to keep the NPRE department as a stand-alone department," Hang said.

But students and faculty alike have challenged the move to eliminate the department altogether. Some even question why it is being considered an option at all.

"Keeping NPRE as a stand-alone academic unit is the most efficient way to produce high quality nuclear engineers to meet the industry demands," said Qinyang Rao, graduate student in NPRE.

Nick Karancevic, another NPRE graduate student, said he feels the administration needs to support the department more.

"They said that the department has a low student to faculty ratio as if that was a horrible thing," he said. "I honestly cannot imagine a better environment in which I can get to personally know the faculty, or have ample opportunity for both personal and professional growth."

Stubbins said he hopes the department — with only seven faculty members — is not excluded from the review.

"We are a small department so I think we have a minor say in what will occur," Stubbins said. "We're relatively small fish."

Jim Stubbins, head of the NPRE department