When the Board of Regents discusses a controversial plan today to increase admission standards at the state's two universities, they'll do so with a newly proposed compromise on the table.

The presidents of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno signed a letter this week encouraging a compromise calling for entering university students to have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher by fall 2008, a year later than the current proposal would require.

Chancellor Jim Rogers, UNLV President Carol Harter and former UNR President John Lilley have been pushing to make the two institutions more selective by boosting admissions standards. They have asked the board to consider requiring entering university freshmen to have a 3.0 grade point average, or a 1040 SAT score, by 2007.

Minority leaders, worried the proposal would decrease the number of students of color on campus, have asked regents not to implement the standards.

Regent Linda Howard, who has urged officials to wait until 2010 to increase admission standards to 3.0 as regents agreed to do in 2001, has proffered a compromise in a letter to regents signed by Harter and UNR interim President Joe Crowley.

"What we have now agreed is that a compromise on the timeline is a worthy discussion, and we encourage you to consider implementing the 2010 standards in 2008," the letter to regents stated. Harter, Howard and Crowley also recommend the universities increase GPA admission standards as planned next fall from 2.5 to 2.75, and then wait until fall 2008 to raise the bar to 3.0.

"I do believe 2008 would be something we can all work with and it will give the students more time to prepare," Howard said. "That's what it's all about, student success. It will also give us time to monitor the 2.75 increase."

System officials would study how the increase to admission standards impacts the student body between fall 2006 and fall 2008.

"We just need to make sure students aren't harmed," Howard said.

Regents won't vote on the matter at their two-day meeting this week at the Community College of Southern Nevada, but Howard said she hoped regents would give the 2008 suggestion some thought.

Rogers has been a vocal advocate for raising admission standards to improve the universities' standing nationally.

Rogers said Wednesday night that he was surprised by the letter of agreement and hoped regents wouldn't make any hasty decisions. They have at least until fall to come to a decision on admission standards, he said.

"I was rather surprised about it," he said. "We have been in talks with everyone around town because the 3.0 (standard) may not be the standard we need, there may be a lot of other standards we need."