NSHE Notes
by Chancellor Dan Klaich
September 8, 2014
As a higher education system, we have been traveling down a long road as we move toward making our eight institutions the pinnacle of intellectual, workforce, cultural, and artistic leadership for Nevada. I am reminded of our progress down this path at the start of every new semester.

The excitement a new semester brings is palpable. I see it in the faces of our students and faculty. I see it in the faces of parents as they anxiously drop off their sons and daughters at the dorms and let them take their first steps down their own paths toward independence and knowledge.

If you've had the opportunity to visit any one of our campuses over the past three weeks, you can feel that positive energy...that sense of exploration. It's a reminder that our more than 105,000 students are bettering their lives through a college education, and in doing that, bettering our communities and our state. 

The fall semester also signals a shift in our focus at NSHE. Although the process of funding Nevada's public higher education system is an ongoing endeavor, our work takes on a new pace as we get closer to the next legislative session. 

Earlier this year, we asked students and their families to shoulder a heavier load on this shared journey. Students will pay increased fees over a four-year period beginning in 2015. While no one likes to raise fees, the request had broad, but not unanimous, support from students across the state. Their major concern was that the burden be shared. Without exception, students asked the state to join them in increasing higher education funding.

That student request played a key role in developing the budget recently approved by the Board of Regents and submitted to the Governor. Even as we emerge from this recession, it is critical for Nevada to join the ranks of many other states and begin the process of reinvesting in the programs, faculty, and facilities that lie at the heart of a public college education. 

We have also made certain our budget request continues to align with the state's economic development plan. We need to send the signal that education matters and that Nevada supports a culture of innovation, creativity, and enhanced skills in our workforce. We understand the critical importance of higher education to the economic success of Nevada. The 2015 session is when the legislature must acknowledge the same with enhanced funding.

Much like the path that lies ahead for our students, ours will not be an easy one to travel. Yet, it is critical that we make as much progress as we can for a better Nevada and a brighter future for our citizens. 

 

Nevada System of Higher Education
www.nevada.edu