Nevada State College president touts growth

Nevada’s fastest growing public higher education institution, Nevada State College, may be growing too fast and have to cap enrollment in the future, said president Bart Patterson following his annual state of the college address Monday.

The 12-year-old institution, located in Henderson, has grown from 177 students to more than 3,400. And over each of the the past two years the incoming freshmen classes have increased in size by 21 percent, Patterson said.

“It’s a good issue to have,” the president said, adding that NSC must have the ability with its faculty and facilities to keep up with the growing number of applicants.

During his roughly 2,700-word address at the City of Henderson’s amphitheater, Patterson pointed to NSC’s attempt to meet the need of its growing student population as the school has added 13 new faculty members with expertise in nursing, education and business fields, among others.

The campus is also growing with two new buildings under construction expected to be complete by the fall semester in 2015 — a student activities and administration building and a nursing, science and education building.

Patterson took pride in NSC’s diverse student population, which he said reflects the state’s population. “Over 50 percent of our student body identifies themselves as racially and ethnically diverse. Thirty-eight percent of in-coming high school students identify as Latino,” he said.

NSC is on track to reflect the Clark County School District’s student population, Patterson said.

He added the driving goal is to retain students and see them through to graduation.

The president specifically pointed to the achievement in the School of Nursing which boasted a perfect passing rate of all NSC students who have taken the national nursing licensing exam over the last two years. “Our nursing students are well prepared to care for our families in our community,” he said.

Nevada System of Higher Education board of regents chairman Kevin Page attended the speech with chancellor Daniel Klaich.

Afterwards, Page called NSC “one of the jewels of the system” for offering opportunities to low-income first-generation college students who may have been ignored in the past.

Full-time students pay about $4,400 before fees for 30 credits in the fall and spring semesters.

Contact Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or702-224-5512. Find him on Twitter: @fjmccabe