At CSN, students return to limited course options

Heather Cory

Tasia Brown, a College of Southern Nevada freshman, shops for school supplies at the Henderson Campus bookstore on Wednesday.

By Dave Clark (contact)

Monday, Aug. 25, 2008 | 3:53 p.m.

Heather Cory

Nancy Christiansen, left, helps Ashley Van, a College of Southern Nevada freshman, find her books for the school year Wednesday at the Henderson Campus bookstore.

Heather Cory

Getting ready for the school year, students filled up the College of Southern Nevada Henderson Campus bookstore on Wednesday.

Students at the College of Southern Nevada returned to class today to find limited course offerings, pared student services and a hiring freezes on all positions. Meanwhile, student fees have increased by $2.75 per credit hour.

The changes were made over the summer break in the face of budget cuts mandated by Gov. Jim Gibbons and a special session of the State Legislature.

With the onset of an additional 14 percent cut in the 2009-11 biennium, the college is bracing to slash an additional 38 administrative positions, cut student supplies and materials as well as lab and library hours. And with potential enrollment caps, the all-access institution is preparing to turn away 8,000 students.

“We’re hoping for a miracle,” CSN Vice President of Finance Patty Charlton-Dayar said.

Students returning to campus the week before classes to purchase books and check their schedules seemed unaware of the cuts that occurred over the summer, but they were quick to express outrage when informed, calling them wrong and absurd.

Henderson resident Karl Band, 33, saw the measures as more evidence of what he said were the deficiencies of the country’s education system.

“Our education system is totally backward from the rest of the word,” said Band, who hopes to pursue photography. “Other countries are creating a better future for their children, and they’re basically crippling our future.”

While he predicted the cuts would impact his academic career, he said education policies would also influence his vote in November.

Other students interviewed at the Henderson campus expressed dismay that the cuts would hinder their ability to enroll in the classes they needed — a stress exacerbated by the full-time jobs many students hold.

“It’s already hard enough going to community college,” said Henderson resident Trevor Brilman, 25. “The state is going to make it that much harder.”

He said those 8,000 students who may be turned away depend on their education to find jobs.

“They need to take into consideration kids are trying to get an education and improve themselves,” Brilman said. “Think of cutting something else.”

Athena Lent, 23, of Henderson, was already encountering trouble getting into all of the courses she needed. The criminal justice hopeful worried that she would be unable to obtain her degree on time.

“They figure they can cut wherever they can and then they wonder why education does so badly,” Lent said.

Charlton-Dayar said school officials are dealing with the lack of funding as best as they can. Instead of replacing full-time faculty, the school is relying more heavily on part-time instructors. School equipment and supplies, which she said comprise a large part of vocational programs, are also not being replaced.

She added that this year is likely the last the college will be able to maintain the 40,000 enrollment and current level of course offerings. And, she noted, enrolling in course sections is already difficult for students.

“There’s a very limited opportunity for us to add more sections,” Charlton-Dayar said. “We already turn away a number of students who try to enter specific courses.”

According to a memo from CSN President Michael Richards, the college turned away 256 of the 468 qualified applicants for CSN’s health programs in fall 2007. Richards predicted that figure would multiply.

“We can sense the tension within the institution,” Charlton-Dayar said. “We’re stretched as tight as we can be stretched.”

Dave Clark is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-2677 or dave.clark@hbcpub.com.