Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION

A new computing system is desperately needed to serve the Nevada System of Higher Education, but the system can't afford it.

It's not just a matter of wanting the Cadillac version and being only able to swing a Ford. Officials need a completely new vehicle but can barely afford the tires.

That sad reality was summed up best by outgoing Regent Linda Howard, who compared the system's plight to her own of driving the same car for about 10 years. The university's computer system is 15 to 20 years old, and is being pushed beyond the max, crashing several times over the last 18 months.

The system's institutions, in fact, have had to ask students to only register during certain hours to keep the registration program working, said Regent Michael Wixom, chairman of a technology task force.

Regents have set aside about $15 million from investment income for the new system and hope to get about $10 million from the 2007 Legislature. Outgoing Gov. Kenny Guinn has included the allocation in his recommended budget.

The $25 million is not quite enough to cover one component of a new system that would overhaul student services, human resources and finances. Two-thirds of the cost will be in additional staffing needed to implement and train people on the new software.

At the urging of presidents, regents decided Thursday to pursue the student services computing system first, and replace the rest later.

One benefit of the system is that all of the institutions will have to follow common definitions for entering data, making it easier for higher education officials to compare progress and better track students transferring from a community college to a university.

UNLV's beleaguered fundraising foundation raised more than double that of UNR's during the 2006 fiscal year, according to reports presented to regents Friday.

Most of the $42 million in cash brought in by the UNLV Foundation was payments from pledges made in earlier years of the university's "Invent the Future" campaign. The university brought in another $16.3 million in new pledges.

UNR saw a dip in cash brought in the door, having concluded its campaign for the new Knowledge Center, a high-tech library under construction. UNR raised $18.4 million in cash gifts and another $17 million in new pledges.

UNLV has raised $332 million toward its $500 million goal. About 40 percent of that is in bequests or long-term pledges.

The university has lost 11 staff members over the last year, including chief fundraiser John Gallagher, who announced his resignation earlier this week.

Gallagher received a standing ovation from the regents.

Basic resume information on university system employees - such as where they went to school and previous employment - is now public information, thanks to a unanimous vote Thursday by the regents. Before, such information was considered part of the personnel file and could be released only with employee permission.

It was the Sun's request for staff resumes at the UNLV Research Foundation and the Institute for Security Studies - and UNLV's denials - that led regents to declare that the information is public.

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