Current colleges might be hit initially by proposed school

A new four-year state college in Henderson at first likely will draw on resources that otherwise would go to the state's community colleges and universities, but in the long run the college will draw students who otherwise might not have gone to college, the Board of Regents said Friday.

"We don't want to hurt any other institutions in the process, but they are going to be impacted initially," said Regent Howard Rosenberg, who initially opposed but now supports the college. "Kids who would have gone to UNLV, CCSN or UNR might go to the state college instead. There might be a drop in enrollment at first, but in the long haul, we will pick up enrollment in Nevada overall from students who might not come any other way."

He predicted the college could add 8,000 more bachelor's degree students to the state's university and college system.

The regents also noted that the new college's founding President Richard Moore, who officially took the post on Saturday, may need to use resources of already established schools as he puts together a plan and a budget.

How those resources would be shared was a major topic of discussion Friday as the regents wrapped up two days of meetings at the Henderson campus of Community College of Southern Nevada.

Regent Mark Alden said that allowing the states' universities and community colleges to share resources with the new state college would likely only occur in the planning phase of the school. The assistance, he added, would be mostly on a temporary basis.

"If they (the colleges) want to help each other in terms of resources, they can, as long as there is disclosure," Alden said after the discussion. "Basically, there will be very little of shared resources, though, because the community in Southern Nevada has made it very clear that they are going to raise the money for this college."

Those promises of local support are being counted on, Alden said.

"Dr. Moore, the founding president of the college, might need some help, and there is no problem with someone going over for a day to help with budget, for example," Alden said. "But if that person becomes a transfer for a long time, then that institution needs to be reimbursed. That was the policy set."

The state college in Henderson should have a state budget in place by its scheduled opening in September 2001, Alden said. The Legislature allocated $500,000 last year to be used for the implementation of the college. Of that amount, $75,000 will be used by the city of Henderson to hire consultants to plan for the college.

Moore said he is looking forward to the direction the new college will take in the next months.

"I think that you will see more action in the next four months than you will believe," he said. "You will see a recommendation for a name, for a mission statement, for degree programs, for enrollment, for a campus site and for a campus master plan."

There will be more than 20 hearings conducted across the state, according to Moore, to gain the public's input in the planning of the state college.

"The public's recommendations will be brought back before this board," he told the regents.

The idea of a state college in Henderson, which originally drew a lot of fire from critics who questioned its necessity, is gradually gaining acceptance, Rosenberg said.

"The bringing of a new college on line is a new thing for all of us. I've never formed a college, and I don't know anybody here who has, so we are going to make up the rules as we go," he said.

The state college idea has now won over many of its initial critics, including himself, Rosenberg added.

"I'm very definitely supportive of this college," he said. "I wasn't to begin with, but as staff started sifting through the material and I started reading what was coming out and gathering information myself, I realized that this is a good thing to do."

UNLV President Carol Harter said after the meeting that while she is supportive of the new state college, she is still concerned about its potential impact on UNLV.

"I initially had reservations about it because of the resource issue, and still remain very concerned about that," she said. "The state of Nevada is not going to have the dollars to do all the things that the (university and college system) wants to do. We (UNLV) want to build two new branch campuses, and we want capital to spend millions of dollars on research, while they want to build a new state college.

"There are just so many needs for our growing university systems that it concerns me."

The new state college in Henderson, though, will receive her support, despite her concerns, Harter said. "I am trying to accept the fact that we are going to have a Henderson state college and be as helpful to them as I can be in the process of planning it," she added. "I am helping them achieve accreditation by sponsoring their accreditation. The resource issue is the only thing that I am concerned about."

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