UNR funding edge over UNLV noted

When the Board of Regents meets at the Community College of Southern Nevada Feb. 25-26, among the items on the agenda will be a request to correct a disparity of per-student funding that exists between UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno.

Las Vegas Regent Mark Alden says under the current budget, funding per student at UNLV is $8,015 while at Reno it is $10,836, a difference of $2,821.

"It costs more to operate UNR. It absolutely does," Alden said. "Part of it is the physical plant. The buildings are older, maintenance and utility are higher.

"And some of the technical programs offered at UNR generate higher costs. And part of the cost (per student) is driven by older, more tenured faculty."

But, Alden says, the difference in per-student cost should be closer to $1,400, not $2,800.

He said the funding difference is based on a formula created in 1986.

The disparity in per-student funding has grown steadily since the formula was created, when it was $200 to $300, Regent Steve Sisolak said.

"It has increased every year since 1986, and if we don't put it on the table, it will increase every year for the next 20 years," Sisolak said.

The formula -- which takes into consideration such things as utilities, maintenance, cost of instruction and several other factors -- is probably accurate for Reno, says Alden, but not for UNLV.

For the February meeting, Alden and regents Sisolak, Tom Wiesner and Tom Kirkpatrick have requested a review of the current budget and the formula.

The goal is to change the formula for future budgets and to try to get supplemental funding from the Legislature, based on a more equitable division of the money, from the current budget.

Alden stressed the request would not change the budget request now in place, only future budgets.

"It is only for a supplemental wish list," he said.

Two other major items on the February agenda include a current review of the capital improvement projects request on the regents' priority list.

One item on that list is the proposed Redfield campus, a joint campus in Northern Nevada.

"We need to know what the long-range plans and costs are," Alden said.

The project currently is budgeted for $5.5 million. Alden said regents need to know if it is going to turn into a $100 million budget down the road.

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