Friday, Nov. 17, 2006 | 6:54 a.m.
Jim Rogers' report card
The chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education asked staff to grade him on how well the system had delivered on promises he made during the 2005 state of the system address. Many initiatives are in the works, and some are awaiting funding from the 2007 Legislature.
Streamlining administration: A
Increasing technical/trade training at community colleges: B/Incomplete
Raising admission standards at the universities: A
Improving transfer arrangements between institutions: A
Partnering with K-12: A
Seeking input from community: A
Increasing graduation rates: B/Ongoing
Recruiting and retaining minority students and staff: B
Seeking funding for research initiatives: Incomplete
Developing a health science center: A for starting, incomplete
Pursuing private partnerships to fund capital projects: B/Incomplete
Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Jim Rogers is scheduled to pitch some major budget and policy initiatives this morning in his state of the system speech, including asking lawmakers to increase funding and to allow system officials to run their own construction projects.
But how has the media mogul delivered on promises in his two previous state of the system addresses?
For the most part, Rogers has taken action on every promise or initiative he made in December 2004 and November 2005, according to an internal report card obtained by the Sun. Some projects are ongoing or incomplete, and a handful are awaiting funding from the 2007 Legislature.
Overall, Jane Nichols, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, and system staff gave Rogers a B-plus average.
"I think he has stayed focused on what he wants to accomplish, and he does not forget what he says every year," Nichols said.
A review by the Sun shows that higher education officials have made progress in every area identified by Rogers in previous addresses, but it will be a few years before it is clear whether those initiatives have made an impact.
Critical areas to watch will be graduation and retention rates, particularly for minority students, the number of Nevada high school students needing remedial help to enter college, the amount of research dollars coming into the state, the level of private donations and the success of private-public partnerships currently in the works.
In December 2004, most of Rogers' speech focused on the need to decrease administrative overhead and get the state's eight institutions working as one cohesive unit. Rogers also talked about the need to increase the chancellor's authority.
His efforts led to the ouster of UNR President John Lilley and UNLV President Carol Harter, but higher-education officials across the state agree that the system is now functioning as a system and that more money is going directly toward students' education than ever before.
Rogers also was successful in his 2004 promise to persuade the 2005 Legislature to allow the universities to keep 100 percent of their research revenue, but he failed to get the Legislature to allow institutions to keep money left over at the end of the year. Dan Klaich, executive vice chancellor, said that initiative will come before the 2007 Legislature as a bill draft request, with a recommendation that the extra money go to financial aid.
It took two years, but Rogers also achieved his 2004 promise to increase admission standards at UNLV and UNR, although he had to compromise by accepting an increase in applicants' grade point average. Rogers preferred to limit enrollment to the top 25 percent of high school graduates.
In 2005 Rogers' staff continued to streamline administrative costs and he followed through on his promise to reach out to business and community leaders throughout the state. He has hosted round-table meetings throughout Nevada on how to improve higher education, and staff members are compiling the results from a 200-person survey.
Several initiatives that Rogers pitched in 2005 are awaiting funding from the Legislature, but the prospects look doubtful. Included in that list is more funding for K-12 partnerships; student services and advisers to improve retention and graduation rates; scholarships for graduate assistantships and students majoring in crucial areas such as math, science and technology; increased technical training; and for UNLV research needs.
Some programs awaiting funding have gone forward in pilot form, such as K-12 efforts to identify and teach students who may need remedial help for college in the senior year of high school. UNLV also is testing a pilot version of Rogers' Nevada Stars program, a $5 million budget request. The program would allow the universities to increase stipends given to "star" graduate students to attract them to Nevada.
One area discussed in both the 2004 and 2005 speeches was diversity. Rogers has instituted monthly meetings with minority leaders in Las Vegas and called on all presidents to hire a diversity officer. Actual increases in the retention or recruitment of minority students and staff, however, remain to be seen. Diversity issues are notably absent in Rogers' address this year.
Perhaps the most important initiative backed by Rogers in both his 2004 and 2005 addresses was the need for more private-public partnerships. UNLV's first partnership - with a private orthodontics company - ended in September when the company pulled out, leaving UNLV scrambling to cover its costs.
UNR, Nevada State College and the Community College of Southern Nevada are pursuing partnerships of their own, but none has come before the board for approval.
The health sciences center, first discussed in the November 2005 address, is heavily dependent on receiving funding from the Legislature. The project has changed from a vision of a university-run hospital or medical center to more of a coordination and expansion of the current health science offerings at the eight institutions.
Rogers is seeking operating costs and capital construction money to expand the University of Nevada School of Medicine, expand nursing enrollments throughout the state and start a pharmacy school.
The chancellor's success in delivering on promises made in 2005, therefore, depends largely on his success in delivering funding from the 2007 Legislature.
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