Tuition split

If there has been any benefit to this recession, it’s the ongoing, much-needed examination of government spending.

And even during better times, one outdated state policy was ripe for reform: how Nevada funds higher education.

Students pay their tuition and fees at Nevada’s eight public colleges and universities; the institutions send the money back to the state; then the state decides how much to send back based on a formula subject to political gamesmanship at the Legislature. It’s a process that mirrors federal highway spending, where states collect federal gasoline taxes and hope their congressional delegation has the juice to bring most of that money back from Washington. Only Nevada’s system might be more unfair.

UNLV, in particular, gets the short end of the stick. Higher education system data show UNLV collects 60 percent of all out-of-state tuition paid in the state, about $30 million of a $50 million pot. But UNLV President Neal Smatresk says his campus loses $16 million to $17 million of that money each year, which is handed out to other institutions.

Mr. Smatresk says another round of tuition and fee increases wouldn’t be necessary if UNLV were allowed to keep all of its tuition and fee dollars. The College of Southern Nevada, as well, would benefit from such a change. The Board of Regents is expected to consider tuition hikes later this year.

System Chancellor Dan Klaich supports rewriting the funding formula, especially to allow campuses to keep all out-of-state tuition dollars. He wants the issue addressed by the 2013 Legislature.

Public colleges and universities should be pushed toward greater financial independence. It makes no sense to treat tuition and fees as just another general fund revenue stream subject to the whims of elected officials, then force campuses to deploy tax-funded lobbyists to Carson City to beg for state subsidies.

A user-pays model also would make campus presidents more accountable for the sustainability of their budgets and the quality of their academics. In addition, students would know exactly what their tuition dollars are paying for and would better appreciate the value of a college degree.