Colleges, universities seek ways to cut costs

Jennifer Knight

Monday, April 7, 2003 | 11:07 a.m.

As state lawmakers consider raising taxes, higher education officials in Nevada are asking themselves if they have done everything they can to save money.

Colleges and universities in Nevada have already taken the usual steps to cut costs, such as scaling back on energy use and maintenance at campuses. Chancellor Jane Nichols said they are doing as much as they can to find other areas in which to cut back.

"I think we are doing everything we can," Nichols said. "We have already made major changes in our purchasing across the system to save money and we are in the process of looking at more areas to cut costs."

But with Gov. Kenny Guinn's $1 billion tax proposal facing an uncertain future, college and university leaders may have to turn to more creative ways of cutting costs.

A handful of states have come up with unusual ways of dealing with tight budgets, one higher education expert said, and Nevada could save even more money by taking an innovative approach.

Dennis Jones, president of the National Center for Higher Education Management System, said that one out of every seven courses taken at a given college does not contribute to a student's transcript.

Because Nevada spends an average of $498 a class for students, according to the U.S. Education Department, that can get expensive.

"There's no way to (educate) for free, but there are probably ways to do it for less," Jones said.

Examples of costs that can add up, according to Jones:

Nichols said that officials in Nevada have already considered some of the measures Jones mentions.

Nichols said university system officials are already taking a hard look at classroom utilization rates, offering more online courses and considering limiting the number of credits needed to complete a bachelor's degree.

While most of these measures would save taxpayers money, they would not save enough to meet the projected demand for growth over the next two years, Nichols said.

Nevada's higher education system isn't just crying poor. According to a February report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Nevada has the greatest funding requirement for higher education of any state in the nation and it has the second-largest budget deficit in the country, next to Tennessee.

Right now, the university system is banking on getting 86 percent of its budget. Legislators, in turn, must determine what kind of tax increase should be approved.

Nevada can also look at what other states are doing to help pay for higher education, Jones said:

While both of these options could apply to Nevada, Jones said the fact still remains that Nevada has the largest need for revenue.

"The tax structure in Nevada isn't exactly elastic," Jones said. "And, without more revenue, the ability for Nevada to sustain these kinds of increases is not good."