Higher ed reality: Large tuition subsidies aren’t coming back

Although plenty of people in politics and public service would rather not admit it, the fiscal challenges facing Nevada’s higher education system are not unique to the Silver State.

Gov. Brian Sandoval is expected to call for higher education subsidy reductions in the range of 20 percent when he releases his budget next week. Elected regents and college officials say the ramifications of such cuts would include department closures, enrollment caps, layoffs and large increases in tuition, which already has more than doubled at UNLV and UNR over the past decade.

"I just have serious reservations that that can be accomplished without doing exceptional damage to higher education," said Dan Klaich, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

But let’s remember that although Nevada’s higher education system has dramatically increased tuition over the past few years, it’s still one of the cheapest around. For this year, tuition and fees at a four-year institution averages just under $5,000, well below the national average of $7,605 and the Western region average of $6,186.

Fact is, the frugality being imposed on the system does not result from a statewide culture of undervaluing education, as many critics claim. If that were the case, the university system’s budget never would have enjoyed such explosive growth over the previous two decades.

No, these cuts are strictly a result of economic hardship. Every state has been hurt by the devastating recession, and nearly every state is dialing back university system funding in response — even ones that have raised taxes.

In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer wants to cut state funding to public universities by 20 percent. California Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed cutting his state’s higher education budget by 16 percent, after previous years of double-digit subsidy reductions. Colorado’s working budget would slash Colorado State University’s subsidies by 25 percent. The news is the same out of Washington state, Oregon, and as far away as New York and Florida.

The days of Nevada students obtaining a college education while footing a small fraction of the actual costs are gone. Both students and higher education leaders must adjust accordingly.