Home Subscribe Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

News
Feb. 04, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

BOARD OF REGENTS: Increases in tuition proposed

Higher education fees already going up, will rise even more

By LAWRENCE MOWER
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Tuition will rise 10 percent at Nevada's two universities, one state college and four community colleges starting in the next biennium under proposals the Board of Regents will hear this week.

But students could be in store for far higher rates before the next biennium, or two-year legislative cycle, starts in the fall 2009 semester.

Rates for this year and next year already have been set.

Higher education leaders will warn regents this week that even if they pass the initial increase proposal, they could be asked to approve even higher fees in the future.

Most Popular Stories
  • LANDLORD: AS TENANT, FLEISS FOR THE BIRDS
  • Experience Ending
  • NORM: Owner Jay-Z says 40/40 Club is fine
  • JUDICIAL DISCIPLINE COMMISSION: Panel suspends Halverson
  • 1958 CRASH: DEATH IN DESERT AIR
  • CALICO BASIN: Tranquillity lost
  • NORM: 'Idol' contestant set to go country
  • NORM: Jackson in action possibly in Vegas
  • NORM: Cruise the object of a twin crush
  • NORM: Oprah to tape in LV with Tina, Cher



    • Officials are hoping to work out a deal with the Legislature to radically revise the way Nevada colleges are funded.

    Such a deal would allow the colleges and universities to keep a greater percentage of tuition money.

    Under the present funding formula, between 60 percent and 70 percent of every tuition dollar from students goes into the state's general fund coffers, where legislators later distribute it to the institutions.

    If an agreement is reached before fall 2009, fees for the next biennium could drastically increase, university system Executive Vice Chancellor Dan Klaich said.

    With the higher tuition, university officials want to fund more services and offer more financial aid. Students have been receptive to higher tuition if they know it will directly go to services they benefit from, advocates for the higher tuition have said.

    Regents have historically been supportive of modest tuition increases.

    "I've always said there should be tuition increases every two years for cost of living and inflation," Regent Mark Alden said.

    But Alden said he couldn't support drastic rises in tuition.

    Tuition in Nevada is already low. Among Western states, undergraduate tuition at four-year institutions in the state is one of the cheapest, according to data from the Nevada System of Higher Education.

    "On a comparative basis ... it's a real bargain," UNLV Vice President for Finance Gerry Bomotti said.

    The plans regents will consider this week likely won't move Nevada from that bargain status.

    Undergraduate students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno would see fees rise 5 percent per year over the next biennium, and graduate tuition would rise 10 percent for each of the two years.

    That tuition does not include other fees, such as those that go toward student life facilities, student health, and technology services.

    A typical undergraduate at UNLV taking 15 credits, for example, would have to pay another nearly $300 in fees per semester on top of tuition.

    The most drastic hikes would hit students and future students at the Boyd School of Law at UNLV. Tuition there will double for in-state students, from $8,900 annually this year to $20,000 in 2010-11.

    By comparison, the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona charged students $17,768 for tuition this year.

    "I suspect that we'll still be on the more affordable side of the spectrum," law school Dean John Valery White said. "The schools around us have been going up at a more rapid rate."

    Added tuition would help fund an alumni services program and build up other student services, White said.

    Student tuition covers about 20 percent of the entire higher education system budget in Nevada, according to the Nevada System of Higher Education. That funding rate wouldn't budge under the current plan for higher tuition.

    Nationally, tuition usually covers between 21 percent and 31 percent of higher education budgets.

    Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0440.

    TUITION RATES, PROPOSED INCREASES
    University system regents will hear proposals this week to raise tuition rates at Nevada's two universities, four community colleges and the state college, although the plans could change before fall 2009.Rates for the current year and the next three years are:
    Institution 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10** 2010-11**
    University undergraduate, in-state, per-credit $116.75 $129.50 $136 $142.75
    University undergraduate, out-of-state, full-time students* $10,810 $11,095 $12,340 $13,290
    University graduate, per-credit $172.25 $198 $217.75 $239.50
    Community colleges, in-state, per-credit $54.75 $57.25 $60 $63
    Nevada State College undergraduate, in-state, per-credit $85.75 $93.50 $98.25 $103.25
    Boyd School of Law at UNLV, in-state* $9,800 $10,300 $18,000 $20,000
    University of Nevada School of Medicine, in-state* $12,416 $13,520 $14,196 $14,906
    **Proposed tuition
    *Annual tuition
    Source: Nevada System of Higher Education
    Links powered by inform.com


    Leave Your Comment 6 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    ron wrote on February 04, 2008 08:52 PM: Also, speaking of the sad state of public education, in today's USA Today, US students chose the most important people in US history as follows (no Presidents or first ladies were allowed): 1. Martin Luther King 2. Rosa Parks 3. Harriet Tubman 4. Susan B. Anthony, 5. Ben Franklin, 6 Amelia Earhart, 7. Oprah Winfrey..... I am simply astonished at how the curriculum was been hijacked by political correctness and celebrity. None of the founding fathers, except Franklin, made the list! What are they teaching in the US History classes?? ...racial/gender preferences and equal representation is more important than equal opportunity and excellence?? Are students even aware that IQ and crime rates vary dramatically by race and gender???


    ron wrote on February 04, 2008 07:38 PM: Why are Las Vegas students and taxpayers held hostage by a limited selection of colleges? If UNLV can't trim their expenses, then they need some competition to provide the spark. Let's give every Nevada college student a voucher and allow them to determine which Nevada college to spend it on. Perhaps not every student feels the need for their tuition payments to reimburse multiple athletic teams, an endless string of 'diversity' lectures, under-utilized student unions, majors in Women's Studies... This is all proof that the government really doesn't need to own schools or many other types of services.


    Jerry Mac wrote on February 04, 2008 10:42 AM: Nevada colleges are well worth the investment.

    I have had the opportunity to receive multiple degrees from both out-of-state and in-state institutions and can attest to the quality programs that Nevada colleges offer. Now, I prioritize my recruitment of Nevada college graduates due to the quality of the student and the long term commitments that they have been providing.

    Sara – please ask for some help with your spelling and sentence structure.


    Sara wrote on February 04, 2008 09:33 AM: WD, It don't matter.
    People know that paying excessive tution is wrong. Its no wonder the Nevada education system is so screwed up. I got my education fro Clark County schools and no one ever helped me with my spelling. They are more parinoid about some kid having a temper tantrum and then jailing her at 8 YEARS OLD.


    WD wrote on February 04, 2008 08:59 AM: Hey Sara, Ever think about using a dictionary to learn how to spell 'expensive', 'outrageous', 'tuition', and 'scheme', and reviewing your English rules to learn how to conjugate the verb 'say' to its proper form in your comment to 'said'?

    Good luck in that education from another state.

    WD


    Sara wrote on February 04, 2008 06:03 AM: Hey everybody. Ever think of getting your education from another state?
    It probably less expensing and a much higher quality. No one say you have to pay the our rageous tution, taxes or fees. This is a Clark County and Nevada money making sceme.