Higher education finding workforce needs amid tight budgets
During the recession, like other public services, higher education has taken a budget beating. Even with the city and state crying for a more diverse economy anchored by a more educated and skilled workforce, since 2008, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has lost more than 500 positions.
Higher education positions at UNLV saw a 4.8 percent cut in this past legislative session. That was coupled by higher insurance rates and hiring freezes since 2010, adding workloads to existing staff, said Gregory Brown, a UNLV history professor and the chair of the faculty senate at the school.
"We looked at programs very seriously. It was not pleasant, but done seriously with a very high standard. We made some very shrewd decisions," Brown said.
Brown remains optimistic that today's leaner, meaner UNLV is a group committed to a better Southern Nevada of tomorrow.
Neal Smatresk, UNLV's president, said the school is coming off of five years of "very restrained" hiring in preparation for larger cuts. The final higher education budget for the state came in at $6.77 billion over the next two years, about $300 million higher than Gov. Brian Sandoval originally planned, and concessions were made by both sides of the funding argument. When only about half the cuts expected in the last legislative session materialized, it allowed for one of the best hiring seasons this past spring that UNLV has seen in four years, the president said.
The hiring filled a number of customer service roles such as those in recruiting, advising and student services, Smatresk explained. But where it really paid off was in junior faculty positions to help with "bottleneck classes," or those needed for virtually every major. They have been full for the past few years and with not enough instructors to add sections.
Students feeling gouged by higher tuition fees and getting fewer services have been vocal about their disapproval, and rightfully so, Smatresk said. They have seen rates climb 73 percent since 2007 and the university has been on a five-year run of raising tuition for undergraduates.
Today, in-state tuition at UNLV for one year runs about $5,000, about $2,000 higher than it was in 2007. Another 8 percent hike is scheduled for the fall 2012 school year.
What Smatresk calls a "buyers market" for junior faculty today has allowed him to add roughly 50 of those positions in addition to the administrative spots he also mentioned. There were also "strategic hires" in areas of research and economic development, he said. It should help as far as morale on both the faculty and student fronts.
Back to basics
Nationally, community college enrollment peaked in 2009, since then about 10 percent in enrollment declines have been seen nationwide, a figure mirrored locally at College of Southern Nevada.
Darren Divine, vice president of academic affairs, said the College of Southern Nevada hears similar gripes from students regarding fewer class sections offered and higher fees. The college has done its share to trim expenses by increasing class size minimums and freezing hiring.
"Hands down I think students are generally resilient. However they have a goal and certainly class availability is a concern," Divine said, while also adding that salary freezes and higher workloads have been a morale killer on the staff front, too. To compensate for the cut classes, the College of Southern Nevada has added some late-night offerings that are being well received by students.
Divine also said, particularly in its culinary programs, he has seen enrollment drops because of employers cutting back tuition reimbursements. But he has also seen steady enrollment in general education, or core, classes needed for degrees.
"It's really hit and miss as far as what areas are losing or adding students. Some areas are doing just fine," he added.
While the College of Southern Nevada seemed to be distancing itself from the community college label, adding a four-year dental hygiene degree to its offerings several years ago, today the school is still seen more as a community college than ever. Divine said the institution will never enter into the world of offering four-year liberal arts degrees. But it is adding a couple more four-year degree options today in response to local workforce needs.
It is in the process of adding a cardio-respiratory therapy program and clinical lab sciences bachelor's degree program. Both were offered by UNLV for years. But the school couldn't sustain them. UNLV officials asked the college to continue the programs, Divine explained.
"We're approached regularly by industries in town. We have seen demands in those areas increase," he added.
Growing fields
Tim Porter, dean of UNLV's college of sciences, which includes mathematics, physics, astronomy and all life sciences, said overall university enrollment is down about 4 percent. But that's not the case for the college of sciences. He has seen double-digit percentage growth in health sciences for the past two years. He also is seeing small increases in chemistry and geosciences, the latter of which has a 100 percent job placement rate upon graduation.
"It's caused a little consternation in trying to cover all these classes," he said. "You're seeing kids desiring to go into medical, dental, physical therapy. People are getting a little more cognizant of where the high-paying jobs are and are going to be for the next five to 20 years."
The tough part of the growth Porter is seeing lies in lab equipment maintenance and repair. He calls it a "degradation of infrastructure in the sciences," where maintenance on lab equipment and machinery must be deferred for a lack of money.
"By kicking the can down the road a little bit, we may see some higher costs later," he added.
Kathy Gamboa, a territory vice president covering Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming for University of Phoenix, is seeing increases in the school's criminal justice and counseling programs. Interns at the school's area counseling center overseen by professional counselors in the field are quite busy, she said.
"That's exciting to us. We know we need a lot more people in that field," she added.
University of Phoenix has roughly 5,400 students locally who are served by four valley locations. Nationally, University of Phoenix has seen a roughly 40 percent enrollment drop, as of 2010, according to a wide range of news reports. Some of it may be attributed to tightening of financial aid and recruiting rules for private colleges. But the university has claimed many of the drops are largely attributed to the economy.
Locally, Gamboa said she hasn't seen a major drop off, and the school will count 800 graduates this June, its 20th year in the valley.
Death of the liberal arts degree?
With all the focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines needed to help improve the local economy and provide job security for out-going college students, the liberal arts degree has been knocked for its usefulness, or lack thereof, in the past few years.
Is this the end of the liberal arts degree? Smatresk and Divine say it's not.
Smatresk said he hears from employers today that are still looking for employees who can relate to others and work well in groups, people with a collaborative nature and the ability to problem solve in difficult situation. These are all traits only enhanced by those with an understanding of cultures, philosophies and views beyond their specific field of study, he explained.
Divine said it's important to not offer knee-jerk reactions in times like this. The life earnings of college graduates still far outpaces someone with only a high school diploma. But simply tying education to dollars may be misguided despite the obvious temptation to do so in these times.
"One thing you have to look at is those who have a lower level of education right now," Divine explained. "As we come out of the downturn, who is going to be hired first? The person that has an education or not? Education is a long-term, life-long benefit that is monetarily tough to measure on a two-, three-, four-year window."
The future
For now, university leaders remain cautiously optimistic about future cuts and tuition hikes. For Smatresk, these lean years have offered an opportunity for the university to be more directly involved in diversification efforts. Recruiters and university representatives are out pounding the pavement at local events such as downtown's Vegas Jelly, a weekly technology entrepreneurship gathering. UNLV will be adding other IT programs to its offerings too as a result of speaking with employers, economic development officials and other members of the business community.
"There's never been a time when UNLV has been more connected to the community," he added.
Changes have helped the university's sciences programs take a short- and long-term look at issues, added Porter.
"We want to be in a stronger position to do our job for the state of Nevada. To deliver the type of knowledge and the kind of innovation and research institutions have to deliver. It's absolutely critical to economies trying to grow into more diversified ones," he said.
Luke Schultheis, interim associate vice president for enrollment and student services, said the enrollment numbers, despite some dips, are still pretty solid, and the university recruiting efforts are the reason. About 75 percent of the school's students come from Clark County, but that number will probably be dipping in the future as the university has targeted 14 states in particular for marketing.
"We practically live in the local high schools. But recruiting (from out of state) has helped," he added.
