Nevada college students face increases in fees
Students in the Nevada System of Higher Education probably will face fee hikes in 2019 and 2020.
Juanita Fain, vice president of student affairs at UNLV, called the proposed 1.8 percent registration and tuition increase for each year “modest.”
“It’s basically a cost-of-living increase,” Fain told about 25 students during a forum at the university on Wednesday. College of Southern Nevada President Michael Richards hosted three forums on Thursday, one at each of the campuses.
The increase is based on the Higher Education Price Index.
NSHE Chief Financial Officer Chet Burton said the Board of Regents’ policy states that the committee must recommend an increase equivalent to the latest index figure, an inflation measurement specific to higher education.
But the board is not bound to approve any set number, he said, and could approve a higher fee increase.
Burton said the tuition and fee committee, made up of voting members NSHE Chancellor Thom Reilly, UNLV President Len Jessup, Nevada State College President Bart Patterson, Truckee Meadows Community College President Karin Hilgersom and student representatives, factored the recent 4 percent fee hikes into their recommendation.
“Knowing that we’re coming off that much of an increase, the committee felt that they were going to make a recommendation at the low end of the minimum,” Burton said.
During the forum at UNLV, some students took issue with the increase being referred to as “modest.”
“I would like for the board and you guys to please understand that a couple hundred dollars can be the difference between someone able to attend here and able to drop out,” said Lee Archie, a freshman education major. “A lot of us either have no parents who can pay us, or are homeless, or have a lot of siblings, or are in situations where their parents are sick, or unable to help us.”
About 11 students attended a forum at CSN’s North Las Vegas campus on Thursday, but no one voiced any concerns with the increase.
The increase, if approved by the state Board of Regents in June, will apply to both undergraduate and graduate fees at UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno, and the state’s four community colleges.
Students at Nevada State College will face a 5 percent increase in 2019. Burton said it’s a housekeeping measure to bring the state college more in line with the upper-division course fees currently paid by students at the community colleges.
Fain said the university will plan to hold at least one more forum for students, but the date has not yet been set.
Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.
Did you know?
Students who attend a school within the Nevada System of Higher Education pay a registration fee, which is a per-credit fee paid by all students, regardless of residency status. Only nonresident students pay tuition, which is a monetary charge on top of registration and other fees.
