Bill would duplicate degrees at CCSN, state college

Jennifer Knight

Monday, March 17, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.

The Community College of Southern Nevada is getting a legislative push to offer the same four-year degrees that the struggling Nevada State College at Henderson already offers.

Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-North Las Vegas, is sponsoring a bill to create bachelor's degrees at CCSN in nursing and teaching -- the two areas that the Nevada State College at Henderson was created to serve.

"The infrastructure is there (at CCSN)," Williams said. "We have the leadership there that can do this and people want it."

University system officials expressed irritation that the bill not only would duplicate degrees, but also circumvents the authority of the Board of Regents in such matters.

"This bill is unnecessary and does in fact overreach the authority of the Legislature," Chancellor Jane Nichols said.

Even if the proposed legislation is approved, such a major program renovation would have to go through the Board of Regents, Nichols said.

"Before the board approves any baccalaureate degree at any community college in Nevada, there must be an indisputable argument made that there is an identifiable need, that it is the most cost-effective way to meet that need and that no other entity can meet the need," Nichols said.

Williams said that the state college, whose mission is to educate future teachers and nurses, is not meeting the needs of his constituents in North Las Vegas.

"The geographic location of the Nevada State College still won't meet the need of a vast majority of students who live in my district," Williams said. "That includes those who don't want to make the sojourn to the border of Arizona."

The state college is situated in the far southeast part of the urban area in the largely white bedroom community of Henderson, with no bus routes available to the school -- making access especially difficult for low-income and minority residents, Williams said.

CCSN's two campuses on Charleston Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue have a large minority population, a high number of instructors with doctoral degrees and the ability to make the transition from a two-year to a four-year college, Williams said.

Nevada State College President Kerry Romesburg acknowledged the issue of delivering higher education to minority communities deserves exploration.

"I think that there is a problem (with access by minority students)," Romesburg said. "Now that we know there is a problem, I don't think that what is in the bill is the only way to solve it."

Regent Mark Alden said he was stunned that such a proposal would "circumvent the university system." He added that even if four-year degrees were added, they would be too expensive because salaries would go up and accreditation would cost more.

"For us to go forward and try and do that is almost unworkable," Alden said. "What we are doing is a change in the mission of the community college. This is why we have three separate institutions."

Regent Steve Sisolak disagreed.

"I think it's an idea that has been talked about before," Sisolak said. "It's worthy of consideration. I don't think it's circumventing the regents anymore than they did when they established the state college at Henderson."

CCSN President Ron Remington pointed out that the school is already offering a bachelor's degree in education through a partnership with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Whether Williams' proposal should be approved, he said, is a matter the board should decide.

"We have to see where the board wants to go and what they want to do with this," Remington said.

Nichols did say that a needs assessment should determine where higher education is falling short. Assembly Bill 203 will likely help answer those questions. The bill would establish a committee to study the current level of need in Nevada, including "educational programs for students who desire to become nurses or teachers."

But the duplication of programs should be the least of Nevada's worries, said James Samels, a Boston-based higher education consultant.

"On the contrary," Samels said. "I think it reflects the unsatiated appetite to transform Las Vegas into an education state."

Samels said that such baccalaureate programs are going up at community colleges all over the nation and that more are needed in Nevada, not fewer.

"This is a national mega-trend that is not likely to reverse itself in the next five years," Samels said. "The B.A. program has increasingly become the coin of the realm in Southern Nevada. For management positions and other progressively responsible positions, companies are increasingly requiring a bachelor's degree."

He added, "I am delighted to learn of this bill."