Think tank cites state’s higher education woes

Jennifer Knight

Friday, Jan. 12, 2001 | 11:18 a.m.

A preliminary report released this morning by a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank says systemic problems in Nevada's higher education system are causing lower recruitment and retention rates for disadvantaged students.

The Rand report was commissioned by the University and Community College System of Nevada to give educators information on how to keep pace with growing population demands and to help them take a hard look at the state's academic performance.

"This is the most important thing we have to do. It will set the stage for how our higher education system works in the future," said UCCSN Chancellor Jane Nichols at a meeting this morning. "The presidents are nervous that we're doing this, they're concerned that some unexpected surprises may come out of this report."

Dr. Roger Benjamin, author of the report, said that the study was designed as a blueprint to redefine the mission of higher education in Nevada and find a way to manage growth. Benjamin identified problems with the state's policy making and its manner of providing funding to students.

The state's newly revised equity funding, the report says, has not gone far enough to extend appropriate opportunity to students in need. The money was hoped to bring more resources to UNLV's growing demand.

It was last June when lawmakers revamped the so-called equity formula after it was discovered that University of Nevada, Reno received $3,000 more per student in state tax dollars than UNLV.

But aside from the equity funding issue, there are built-in disadvantages for students in need, the report says. For example, the university system places caps on enrollment of students with limited needs.

The Rand report outlines three goals for Nevada's higher education system: access, attainment and diversity.

Right now, Nevada is falling behind on all three goals. The report says only 4.1 percent of the population has gained access to higher education as compared to the nation's 10 largest states, where the access rate is 5.1 percent.

The state scored 0.19 percent in the area of attainment, which is based on the number of annual four-year degrees compared to the population. The 10 largest states scored 0.26 percent.

Diversity at Nevada's higher education facilities is also low. The amount of black and Hispanics enrolled per population is 0.5 percent, while all other members of the population scored twice that amount, the report said.

The two universities in Nevada have some of the lowest retention and completion rates in the country.

"The biggest problem we have are kids coming from Clark County schools," said Regent Mark Alden. "I don't think they're really ready when they come to college."

The overall report also touched on several other areas of concern such as:

Suggestions to help address these concerns include making administrators at each school more accountable by giving them increased autonomy to make decisions.

The report also suggested finance reform such as paying learning institutions more money for the disadvantaged students they enroll and graduate.

Another reform would be to create more need-based scholarships to balance out already existing programs like the merit-based Millennium Scholarship.

While the report is still in rough draft form it will be shaped over the following months into a model that the regents feel they can apply.

"This study is the first step in articulating the wishes of the board and setting the values and direction of higher education in the future," Nichols said.