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James E. Rogers Chancellor Nevada System of Higher Education 2601 Enterprise Rd. 5550 W. Flamingo Rd., Ste. C-1 Reno, NV 89512 Las Vegas, NV 89103 Phone: (775) 784-4901 Phone: (702) 889-8426 Fax: (775) 327-2202 Fax: (702) 889-8492

MEMORANDUM

DATE: November 18, 2008 TO: NSHE Board of Regents FROM: James E. Rogers Chancellor RE: Tuition and Fees – Part of the Solution, including statements from:

• Governor Jim Gibbons • Senator Steven Horsford, Senate Majority Leader • Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, Speaker of the Assembly • NSHE Student Body Presidents (see enclosures list on page 2)

Continued Business Support (see enclosures list on page 2) The recent weekly memos from the Chancellor’s office have focused on two major points. The first is that the System is not out there by itself as evidenced by the additional eight letters from partners in the business community. The second focus has been on developing ideas for solutions to Nevada’s budget crisis. Let’s examine another of those solutions – increased tuition and fees. For the last four years the Chancellor’s office has been an advocate for higher tuition and fees. It is no great honor to be one of the cheapest institutions among our peers. That really sends only one message – the System is once again at the bottom of another “bad list.” As we examined this issue it became clear the system has had no incentive to ask its students and their families to invest more in higher education if higher tuition and fees were not guaranteed to remain at their respective campuses. This current budget crisis has focused on the fact that budget decisions, while overseen by the Board and the Chancellor, must be made at the campus level by those who are closest to the spending decisions. Every campus has a budgetary infrastructure in place that prioritizes expenditures. In these critical times, that local input is more important than ever. Nevada must ask its students to invest more in their education. The System needs their support more than ever. Student leaders from throughout the System have unanimously come forward

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in support of continuing this dialogue and pursuing higher tuition and fees as part of the solution to the System’s current problems. With one voice they have informed us that for such an idea to find support on campus there must be assurances that the tuition and fees raised will remain on the campus where they were generated. The fees must be subject to the control of the campus and budgeted outside of the state supported operating budget. The nine letters of support are attached. Letters from Speaker Buckley and Majority Leader Horsford endorsing the concept of fees “staying at home” are also attached. Governor Gibbons has also issued a statement confirming our discussion last week that there should be tuition and fee increases which will stay on the respective campuses. The Chancellor’s office will continue to seek every possible solution. Our office will present additional solutions every week. I invite you to read the attached letters of support. Enclosures:

• Governor Jim Gibbons • Senator Steven Horsford, Senate Majority Leader • Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, Speaker of the Assembly

• Adam Cronis, CSUN Student Body President (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) • Jessica Lucero, GPSA President (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) • Eli Reilly, ASUN President (University of Nevada, Reno) • Brithany Thomson, GSA President (University of Nevada, Reno) • Ryan Crowell, NSSA President (Nevada State College) • David Waterhouse, ACSN President (College of Southern Nevada) • Eron Sanchez, SGA President (Great Basin College) • Jeffrey Meyers, ASTM Board Chairperson (Truckee Meadows Community College) • Andrew Pozun, ASWN President (Western Nevada College)

• Jeff Knight, President, UNLV Alumni, in support of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas • Jeane Jones & Gerald C. Smith, Directors,The Nell J. Redfield Foundation, in support of the

University of Nevada, Reno • Selma Bartlett, Vice Chairwoman, Bank of Nevada, in support of Nevada State College • Mike Benjamin, CEO & President, Benjamin Enterprises, in support of the Desert Research

Institute • Chris Publow, General Manager, Tied Wiens, in support of the College of Southern Nevada • Duane H. Jones, President, Cedar Creek Clothing Co., in support of Great Basin College • Alex Willis, Product Sales Manager, Western Nevada Supply, in support of Truckee Meadows

Community College • Maxine Nietz, Capital City Computing, in support of Western Nevada College

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Ben Kieckhefer, Communications Director - (775) 684-5667 Office of the Governor . 101 North Carson Street . Carson City, NV 89701 . Fax: (775) 684-7198

Grant Sawyer State Office Bldg . 555 East Washington, Suite 5100 . Las Vegas, NV 89101 . Fax: (702) 486-2505

For Immediate Release: November 17, 2008

STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR GIBBONS Governor Jim Gibbons issued the following statement today regarding Chancellor Jim

Rogers’ request for federal assistance in balancing the State of Nevada’s budget during the ongoing economic recession:

“Nevada is clearly in an unprecedented fiscal struggle, and we need to look at all potential solutions for balancing our state budget. To date, legislators and I have balanced a $1.2 billion budget shortfall through a combination of spending cuts, freezing thousands of vacant positions, eliminating one-time expenditures and spending our savings accounts. Legislative leaders and I are continuing to work together to balance another $300 million shortfall in our current year’s budget, and we’ll be meeting again on Thursday to discuss our options.

I have also met with Chancellor Rogers to discuss the budget shortfall as it relates to higher education. I believe our meeting was very productive, and we discussed several options for funding higher education, including tuition increases. I look forward to continuing these discussions.

More than two weeks ago I reached out to Nevada’s congressional delegation to discuss the potential of an economic stimulus directed to the states. If Congress decides to approve such a stimulus, I believe it should include: an extension of unemployment benefits to directly help unemployed workers, an increase in the federal matching rate for Medicaid so the state can continue to help its most needy citizens, and a stimulus for job creation through infrastructure improvements. Nevada has more than $200 million worth of construction projects ready to be put to bid immediately if congress allocates funding for capital improvements, and the state is standing ready to put people back to work if funding becomes available.

I’d like to thank the leaders from across Nevada who are working together to address our needs. It’s only through this spirit of bipartisan cooperation that we’re going to develop solutions, and I remain committed to working cohesively as a state to do just that.”

October 30, 2008 - Letter from Governor Gibbons to The Honorable Harry Reid (pdf)

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  James Rogers Chancellor  Nevada System of Higher Education  5550 W. Flaming Road, Suite C1  Las Vegas, NV 89103   Eli Reilly, ASUN President Associated Students of the University of Nevada University of Nevada MS0058  Reno, NV 89557  Chancellor Rogers,  Thank you for taking time to solicit input from students on this issue. I assure you that the student leaders of the University of Nevada have taken both re‐ and proactive roles in dealing with the budget situation.   I have given presentations to nearly a dozen student organizations giving the reason the cuts are happening, the reactions from campus and student leadership, and the consequences of a 14 and 20 percent cut. Invariably, the first question thrown my way is, “Will tuition be increased?” To students, a tuition increase is a very serious matter and despite how it is quantified or rationalized (a fee increase proposal of $5 per credit was once rationalized to me as “a few less pizzas per semester”) the smallest increase can sometimes alter a student’s ability to continue pursuing higher education. With this said, the majority of students that I have spoken with support tuition or fee increases when they can see concrete results from the increase or, as Dr. Glick would say, a dollar for a dollar’s worth.   If tuition is raised, it should be done so to assist with the financial problems taking place on campus, not around the state. I do not think it is fair to raise tuition for college students to help underwrite the cost of other state services. A similar practice would be to begin charging hospital patients more money so that the state can increase funding to the prison system. For every dollar a student at this University pays in tuition, a mere forty cents remain on campus and the rest is sent back to the state general fund. I am not aware of any other state agency that operates or is funded in this manner. The way I see it, college students are being unfairly financially targeted. Not only do we pay 

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regular taxes (like everyone else) but we also pay 60 percent of our tuition dollars to the state rather than the University.  Mr. Chancellor, if the Board of Regents proposes to increase tuition next year, I will do everything in my power to ensure that our money stays on campus rather than contribute to the near‐extortion that the Nevada System of Higher Education is being exposed to. It simply makes no sense to increase the cost of education while simultaneously decreasing the quality.  Repsectfully,  

  Eli Reilly President Associated Students of    the University of Nevada 

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University of Nevada, Reno

Graduate Student Association

November 10th, 2008

James Rogers Chancellor Nevada System of Higher Education 5550 W. Flaming Road, Suite C1 Las Vegas, NV 89103 Brithany Thomson GSA President Graduate Student Association University of Nevada, Reno/0057 Reno, NV 89557 Dear Chancellor Rogers, As you are aware the Nevada System of Higher Education is facing one of the most severe financial crises ever. Like many other students, professors, regents and others I am following Nevada’s budget news very closely and very much appreciate your weekly memoranda to continue to keep us all informed of these budget cuts. In recent months it has been suggested that we begin to explore alternatives to minimize the impact that these budget cuts will have on our institutions. One suggestion that seems to be the most reasonable is the idea of minimal tuition and fee increases. Although increasing tuition and fees is usually met with strong resistance by students, this situation may be different given the grim economic problems faced by our campuses. However, the student body would only consider supporting an increase if the money was to stay at the institution. If students know that their tuition dollars will stay here to better the financial situation facing their institution, there may be less resistance and more support for such a proposition. During these profound economic hard times, alternative sources of revenue are very limited leaving few other options to consider. Therefore, I would like to recommend that any proposed tuition and fee increases presented to students for consideration include provisions that the money generated from these increases can be retained by the campuses of the students paying those increases, and avert, to the extent possible, the impacts of the current proposed cuts. Again, if students are asked to pay more for their education it is absolutely necessary that the institutions retain these dollars so that the students get the direct benefits from increases. We cannot expect students to pay more and more for their education while decreasing the services and classes offered to them. Nevada cannot continue to offer less at a higher price, or the consequences for enrollment and retention, among other things, could be severe. Furthermore, our President and Provost here at UNR are the ones equipped to decide where these additional revenues should be spent. Once Nevada’s economy recovers from this economic crisis, any potential tuition and fee increases

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University of Nevada, Reno

Graduate Student Association

should be spent to provide a high standard of excellence at our institutions which is one of the main goals of this college. On behalf of the Graduate Student Body here at UNR, I would like to say thank you for your hard work in the past months, and we look forward to being a part of future discussions regarding the budget cuts. Sincerely,

Brithany Thomson UNR-GSA President Cc: John Kuhlman

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November 12th, 2008 James Rogers Chancellor Nevada System of Higher Education 5550 W. Flaming Road, Suite C1 Las Vegas, NV 89103 Ryan Crowell, NSSA President Nevada State Student Alliance 1125 Nevada State Drive Henderson, NV 89002 Dear Chancellor Rogers, I would like to thank you personally, and on the behalf of all the students attending Nevada State College, for your hard work and commitment to higher education, and your support for students and faculty alike. I’d like to let you know that here on campus we have been working hard to educate students on the hardships they will potentially face with a fourteen to twenty five percent budget cut. My student government organizations on campus, to get the word out on the crippling effects of these cuts. It has been emphasized that we must all collaborate our efforts and be united under a common cause to demonstrate the importance of education to this state and of democracy as a whole. The most concerning issues to students have always been tuition and fee increases. These increases have been justified in the past, when they have benefited the individual and schools directly, it is critical that these increases in tuition remain in the colleges to support to institutions. It is upsetting to my student body, to say the least, that there will be significant increases to these costs and they will receive no increase in available resources. They are appalled at the fact that they will actually lose valuable teachers, staff, and classes. Here at Nevada State, a lot of our money comes from people that pay out-of-state tuition. What draws them here is our ability to offer affordable classes with good services. With these fee increases, this revenue would be severely detrimental to the overall growth of this college.

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I hope you understand that the student body and faculty are committed and fully qualified to have input on the budget crisis. Higher organizations should not be seen as a burden on the state but as an investment to aid in a ten year plan that will move to benefit the overall success of the state. I look forward to communicating with you further on this matter in the future. Yours in service, Ryan Crowell NSSA – President NSA – Chair

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November 11th, 2008  James Rogers Chancellor  Nevada System of Higher Education  5550 W. Flaming Road, Suite C1  Las Vegas, NV 89103   David Waterhouse, ASCSN President Associated Students of the College of Southern Nevada 3200 East Cheyenne Avenue Sort Code: C1C North Las Vegas, NV 89030  Dear Chancellor Rogers,  On behalf of all of the students at CSN, I wanted to thank you for all of the hard work you have done so far in leading the higher education system through this time of economic crisis. A number of students and faculty approached me to relay their appreciation for your visit to CSN last week where you took the time to answer a number of our concerns and provided examples of potential solutions for the challenges we face. One of the possible solutions mentioned was the potential for new tuition and fee increases.    Although most every student I’ve spoken to is against tuition hikes, many of them understand that student services such as counseling, tutoring, retention, and the testing or writing centers are at risk of being cut back or removed completely. It is absolutely critical in this case that if any tuition increase is seriously considered, that all of the revenue generated is retained by the institutions instead of sending a majority of it back to the state general fund as we currently must do. If students are asked to shoulder part of this burden, then it should be expected that we see the direct results through the maintained operation of our schools and completion of our education.   Please understand that our administrators and faculty know best where this potential revenue source might be spent in order to support the operation of our schools. We only hope that students have a say in this matter as well and I look forward to our continued discussion.   Sincerely, 

 David Waterhouse ASCSN – President CC: John Kuhlman 

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James Rogers Chancellor Nevada System of Higher Education 5550 W. Flamingo Road, Suite C1 Las Vegas, NV 89103 Eron Sanchez, SGA President Great Basin College 1500 College Parkway Elko, NV 89801 Dear Chancellor Rogers, As the President of the Student Government Association at Great Basin College, I as well as my student body officers have taken a consorted interest in the budget challenges being faced by the State of Nevada. I appreciate that you have made your communications regarding the effects of the state’s budget challenges on higher education so transparent. I am also pleased that you continue to consult with students as you create strategies for the Nevada System of Higher Education. Great Basin College is unique. We encompass 62,000 square miles in Rural Nevada which includes: Elko, Battle Mountain, Ely, Winnemucca, and the Pahrump campuses. Quite candidly, it is our students that have the most at stake in this matter. I fully support the examination of every available source of funding for higher education in Nevada. One of those sources is, of course, student tuition and fees. I cannot imagine any student who would wish to see his or her tuition and fees raised. Great Basin College Students have supported reasonable increases in tuition and fees in the past such as the surcharge. I think they have done so because of the pragmatic nature of rural Nevadans. As our students may be faced with yet another increase, they know that the current means of revenue collection are limited. They are concerned because in rural Nevada we have many students who are place bound, many students who have families that are struggling in the current economy and quite frankly many students who will not be able to afford a college education if fees continue to increase. I do not intend for this letter to represent the view of the entire student body. I would expect that you will hear from students all over our state on this matter as well. Great Basin College Students are eager to have their views considered throughout this process; Therefore, as GBC Student Body President I am conducting leadership forums to disseminate this vital information

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to our students on all of our campus sites. Then the Student Government Association will take into consideration our students voices as they pertain to agenda items. If an increase in tuition and fees were to occur, I feel that it would be more palatable to Great Basin College Students if 100% of the increase would be retained by Great Basin College. Not a dime of the increase should be used for anything other than our own education. I would also request that decisions regarding Great Basin College budgets can only be made by leadership at our institution. It is those people, with their feet on the ground here in rural Nevada, who understand how resources for my higher education should be used. Finally, I am confident that the state of Nevada will recover from our current fiscal challenges. When that happens, I would expect that tuition and fee increases would be used for the advancement of the quality of education at Great Basin College. If possible, there might be an adjustment in tuition and fees. That is what students should look forward to when they invest in their education. Chancellor Rogers, I stated at the last Board of Regents meeting that Great Basin College Students support and applaud your efforts and I am confident they will continue to do so. Sincerely,

Eron Sanchez, President Student Government Association

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Maxine Nietz 775.887.1294

775.887.1896 fax cccnv@sbcglobal.net

Post Office Box 4156 Carson City, NV 89702

November 4, 2008

Chancellor James Rogers Nevada System of Higher Education 2601 Enterprise Road Reno, NV 89512 Dear Chancellor Rogers, As chairman of the Carson City Advisory Board to Western Nevada College, I want to express my strong support of Western, especially in these budget-busting times. As a member of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Business Connections, I am very aware, as I am sure you are, of the need for an educated workforce to the future of Nevada. Western supports educational advancement for young students coming directly from high school, those returning to school to improve their future earning potential, and employees seeking to advance within their company. Through my involvement with community events, such as the Carson City Rendezvous and the Lyon County Fly-In, I know that young people especially are in need of the guidance and support they can get at an institution such as WNC to further their educational goals and become productive members of society. Western is doing more with less, but there is a limit. Education must be the state’s and the country’s highest priority. Funding must be restored to enable our state and nation and all our people to prosper. If the 21st century is to be an American century, not China or India, we must strive to put education at the top of all our lists. I urge you to urge Governor Gibbons and the Legislature to restore funding for higher education in Nevada. For all of us! Sincerely,

Maxine Nietz Capital City Computing

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