College will get more expensive in Nevada.
The Nevada Board of Regents voted eight to five on Friday, January 23, to approve a 12% tuition increase for universities and upper-division courses at community colleges over the next three years. Lower-division courses will increase by nine percent. That amounts to about $1,200 per year for students at public universities and $400 for community college students.
Regents approved the increase to cover a roughly $47 million budget shortfall within the Nevada System of Higher Education.
During the meeting, NSHE Chancellor Matt McNair assured the board that the decision to increase tuition was not taken lightly.
"This recommendation that we're making is the best that we could do in terms of balancing value and affordability. We are certainly not abandoning affordability. We want our budget to reflect our values. We want our budget to reflect restraint, discipline, responsible stewardship, value, and a continued commitment to affordability and student services."
Reporter Lucia Starbuck covered the meeting for KUNR Public Radio in Reno. She told State of Nevada that state-mandated staff raises were responsible for the budget hole.
"In 2023, the state legislature approved cost-of-living adjustments, essentially raises for Nevada's public universities and colleges," she said. "Faculty had not gotten a raise in more than a decade. We were coming out of the pandemic. Staff had to take furloughs. There were hiring freezes. But even though the state required these raises, they did not fully cover the costs. They also used one-time funding, so it was always destined to run out."
According to Starbuck, it left the regents with little choice.
"It was either raise tuition or about more than 300 jobs were at risk, and during public comment, staff said that it could mean reductions in library services, counseling, tutoring, and similar services," she added.
And while higher education officials and staff may be breathing a sigh of relief, students are having to adjust to the increase. That includes UNLV Student Body President Kelechi Odunze. He said students are already worried they won't be able to afford the increase.
"I'm hearing a lot of people saying they're going to have to drop out or take on an additional job or reduce their course load, which is really hard," Odunze said. "Many students are saying they'll have to take out more loans. And so a lot of people are very concerned. We get it. Inflation is rising, and it is rising for students. When we go to the grocery store, we pay the same price for those items."
Guests: Lucia Starbuck, reporter, KUNR Public Radio; Kelechi Odunze, student body president, UNLV
