For UNLV, UNR, only the best and brightest

By Christina Littlefield

Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005 | 9:54 a.m.

Chancellor Jim Rogers wants the Nevada System of Higher Education to refocus from "bodies in the door" to bodies actually graduated.

"Parents don't want to send their child to the fastest growing college or university," Rogers said in his state-of-the-system address Thursday night. "They want to send that child to the best college or university."

That means that UNLV and UNR will have to continue to become more selective -- beyond the current request before the Board of Regents to raise the general admission requirement to a 3.0 GPA by 2007, Rogers said.

Nevada State College in Henderson and the Community College of Southern Nevada also will have to do more to prepare students for either further university study or for the workforce, he said.

"Only the top high school graduates, those who have excelled in the most demanding courses in high school, should be brought into the rigorous academic life of our fine universities," Rogers said. "Every person who wants a four-year degree need not attend a university with such a specialized, concentrated and intellectually demanding curriculum."

Rogers said state lawmakers also will have to adjust the way Nevada funds higher education -- a topic he has been broaching in conversations with legislators in preparation for the 2007 session. Currently, the state rewards the institutions based on how many students they enroll, and while lawmakers complain about low graduation rates, there is no monetary incentive for universities to focus on the degrees earned.

He would like to see universities funded based on the number of students they actually graduate, or for funds to be tied to the quality of the education over the quantity.

Rogers said he also wants to make sure that the universities are not punished financially for restricting their enrollments to focus on quality. At the same time, the state colleges and community colleges will need additional resources to take care of the increase in enrollments they will see as UNLV and UNR become more selective.

In the past, universities have resisted moving classes such as remedial programs to the community colleges because it would mean a loss in funds.

"They are trying to move the students but keep the money," Regent Steve Sisolak said.

Most regents have said they favor upping admission requirements for the universities. If approved, students entering in the fall of 2007 will need either a 3.0 GPA in 13 core high school classes, or an SAT score of at least a 1040 or an ACT score of at least 22.

But Rogers, UNLV President Carol Harter and other university officials said raising the GPA may not be enough.

"What happens is that every time we raise the GPA requirement, the high schools raise the GPA," Rogers said.

Rogers said he would like to see universities limit admission to the top 25 percent of high school graduates or even cap enrollment to a certain number of students each year, letting only the "best and brightest in." Harter said she preferred the capping method because it would allow UNLV to become a competitive research university.

Students who are not yet ready for the university initially would be guaranteed a seamless transfer after they prove themselves at the community college level, Rogers said.