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Friday, Feb. 4, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.
Chancellor Dan Klaich
Neal Smatresk
Using terms such as “doomsday” and “death sentence” to describe the impact of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget on higher education, the Board of Regents voted 13-0 Thursday to oppose the proposal.
At the same time, however, they directed university officials to prepare more detailed plans about how they would cope with such cuts.
Regent Ron Knecht, chairman of the finance committee, even raised the prospect of “financial exigency,” similar to a private company declaring bankruptcy. The action would allow the universities to break labor and other contracts while it reorganizes its finances.
Robert Blakely, another regent, discussed consolidating popular nursing programs.
The Legislature convenes Monday and has until June 7 to review and amend the Sandoval budget.
The prospect of academic bankruptcy and consolidating programs captured the severe tone of the presentation of university officials to the board.
Daniel Klaich, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, and other senior officials disclosed more details about the impact of the proposed budget. “Tuition (increases) cannot fill this hole. It’s too large,” he said.
UNLV President Neal Smatresk said the school is “taking on water,” and his counterpart at UNR, President Milton Glick, said the campus would become a “Cal State Minus,” a reference to California state colleges without graduate programs.
Klaich said if the university system addressed the proposed $162 million in budget cuts with only layoffs, 1,850 faculty and staff would lose their jobs.
To cover it with a tuition increase — Sandoval suggests giving schools more flexibility to raise fees — the cost would be several thousand dollars per student over two years, he said.
Tuition for a typical UNLV graduate program, for example, would jump from $6,574 to $10,744, an increase of more than 60 percent.
"Using terms such as "doomsday" and "death sentence" to describe the impact of Gov. Brian Sandoval's budget on higher education, the Board of Regents voted 13-0 Thursday to oppose the proposal."
It is time for these boys to stop whining and get a plan of their own. Pathetic.
The Higher Education people have to come up with a realistic plan to get through this morass. They passed a fictitious budget last fall and now oppose the only budget on the table. Both paths lead to bankruptcy of the system.
It is called leadership. Get a good plan and sell it to the public. People are willing to listen.
Las Vegas is fast becoming Detroit.
Nevada is fast becoming Mississippi.
The race to the bottom is ours to win.
Cal state minus? Last I checked there were no cal state colleges unless he is refering to community colleges. And there are no CSU's without graduate programs. Visiting professors from around the world, fullbright scholars from the middle east teaching both coloquial and MSA. That being said UNLV is a fine university that will anchor this community for years to come.
@Turrialba: Maybe I can help clarify what the university presidents we're saying in this article. If you think of the universities as supermarkets right now, Sandoval's budget cuts will require them to downsize into corner liquor stores. That's the plan. Now that you know what the final product is, do you really care how they get there?
Less than half graduate from the Universities and less than 15% from the Community Colleges. Now who is kidding who. We will take your tuition and not have to produce graduates or be held accoutable. When is the last time a higher ed or k-12 proposal included accoutability with more money?
PRIORITIES: Higher ed is NOT A PRIORITY. Essential services to elderly and seniors IS. Deport the illegals and save 35% on K-12. Deport the illegals and save 20% on higher ed. We CANNOT AFFORD to keep paying for ILLEGAL theft of emergency health care, routine health care, K-12, higher ed, legal aid and on and on.
DOWNSIZE ALREADY. Such a shame that so many students believe the nonsense the "educators" keep pounding into them--that education brings jobs. Nope, jobs bring education. Enough college grads are washing dishes and cleaning trash cans--they have real trouble trying to pay those college loans. CUT SALARIES of higher ed, K-12, city/county employees across the board. GET SERIOUS. End tenure. End collective bargaining. Cut taxes.
Shooting one's self in the foot is one thing; in the head, a completely different thing.
Duh. See what ah min, iddi ahmin?
Quiddity gone courting chaos.
Coulda been a passer, but we backed off to punt;
Coulda been a rounder, but we lay around like runts.
Coulda been a hitter, but we lay down a bunt;
Dog gone dog won't even hunt!
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? -Ursula K. Le Guin, author (b. 1929)
Being at this regents meeting "doomsday" and "death sentence" weren't used - at least not in any meaningful context.
The regents, along with Chancellor Klaich, pushed for honesty, integrity and an end to the hyperbole about "the sky is falling."
Sound to me the University should explore as a real possibility "financial exigency". If this is what needs to be done to reduce expenses then lets move forward.
Raising tuition is not only necessary but will force the University to improve its quality.
Good.. Universities that do not do anything to support candidates who care for education do not deserve funding. Maybe cut some of your outrageous salaries Smartek and Klaich and pay some of the athletic coaches, and over professores less you will have more money for your university and or college. Do you even really need colleges in a state where education is treated like dog doodoo in the street? Valets with no education make more than college graduates with debt up the wazoo. Wake up sheeple.