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November 10, 2009

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Letter: Enrollment-based funding fails

Sunday, April 15, 2007 | 7:25 a.m.

The latest saga between higher education and state policymakers is a pattern that is likely to be repeated as long as Nevada funds higher education based on enrollments.

My research results, in collaboration with New York University, on a seven-year, five-state study, are clear: States that fund either systems or institutions based on enrollments do not perform well - and they are more expensive to fund.

States that provide a base level of funding, negotiate with higher education based on priorities and provide incentives for goals important to the state are, on the other hand, very successfully meeting the needs of students, the state and their various constituents.

We can expect the continuous pattern of competing arguments between higher education and state policymakers if we do not get rid of the formula. We can also expect our research institutions to continue struggling to become major national players. And it should be no surprise to higher education officials that Nevada legislators will continue to perceive their arguments as alarmist and overly exaggerated.

Mario C. Martinez, Henderson

The writer is professor of higher education leadership at UNLV.

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