Tuition hike tallied

A 25 percent increase in tuition and fees for Nevada's college students would mean it is no longer cheaper to go to college here than in most other Western states.

Such an increase would put prices here higher than in many surrounding states, higher than at comparable research institutions and higher than the average for public, four-year institutions throughout the West.

Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Jim Rogers proposed the large fee increase as one of a series of measures needed to offset looming budget cuts. He also pitched tax increases, borrowing money and a federal bailout.

Rogers, in one of a series of weekly memos on the budget cuts, called it "no great honor" to have the lowest tuition prices "among our peers."

"That really sends only one message," he wrote. "The system is once again at the bottom of another 'bad list.'"

Access to higher education in Nevada has long been an important issue. Fewer than 22 percent of Nevadans over age 25 have a bachelor's degree, according to Census data. That lags below the national average of 28 percent, and ranks Nevada ahead of only a few Southern states.

But Rogers has long been an advocate of a tuition and fee increase.

The proposed 25 percent increase would raise about $50 million a year. With the prospect of severe budget cuts on the horizon, administrators fear they might have to slash staff, classes and even entire programs to deal with the cuts.

Board of Regents Chairman Michael Wixom said the tuition and fee increase will come before the board at its Dec. 4 and 5 meeting.

"We don't want to do it," Wixom said. "We don't know if we have any other options.

"We had always seen (tuition and fees) as a way to enhance the programs, not a way of saving the programs."

Students do not like the idea of paying more for college, but seem resigned to it.

Student body presidents have pleaded with higher education officials for a rule change that would allow all the money from potential tuition increases to stay with the schools. Currently, most revenue from tuition and fees goes to the state's general fund.

"It is very difficult for myself or other students to contemplate the potential for such increases given the current condition of many students' finances," UNLV student government president Adam Cronis wrote in a letter to Rogers. "However, given these circumstances, we understand the magnitude of these budget cuts could drastically affect our ability to graduate on time, receive essential academic advising and take the courses which enrich our academic experience."

Tuition has more than doubled in Nevada and most other Western states in the last decade, even without another increase.

It costs about $4,500 a year for a Nevada resident to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas now, including all fees but not books or room and board. It cost just over $2,000 in 1998.

Tuition and fees average about $5,100 at Western universities, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. An increase here of about 13 percent would put Nevada's universities near the average.

"It's like a lose-lose situation," said UNLV student Ilonka Zlatar, 20, a junior studying biology. "Not only are you having to pay more for everything, but the economy's down so it's hard to find work, too."

Zlatar, who hopes to graduate next fall, plans on studying conservation biology after a year in the Peace Corps. She's paying for school through a combination of grants, scholarships and part-time work.

She said she's already seen the impact cuts can have on campus.

"They've already cut a lot of classes and they've let go some part-time teachers that were really good," she said.

She, like other students, suggested cutting peripherals not directly related to education, such as student government, entertainment and security expenses.

Police, for example, ride around campus on expensive Segway scooters.

"It's just silly," Zlatar said. "What's wrong with bike cops?"

Student Thomas Walker, 21, a kinesiology major who wants to be a physical therapist, said an increase in tuition and fees would hurt.

"It would make it a lot harder for me," he said. "I'd either have to work more, maybe less school, to pay for it. Or I'd have to get a student loan. I'm thinking about it for the first time."

He's paying for school with a Millennium Scholarship. "It's what I breathe on," he said.

Freshman Alycia Hayes, 18, who's studying education, said an increase might end her career at UNLV. She's already in debt from student loans, and this is only her first year of school.

She said her single mom in Long Beach, Calif., is helping her out, along with student loans and a small scholarship. She pays out-of-state tuition, about $15,000 a year, as well as room and board at the dorms.

"I should have gone to Cal State Long Beach," Hayes said.

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.