Editorial: Merging universities a step backward 
February 19, 2009 by Editorial staff
Ir has been suggested that certain programs at UNLV and Nevada, Reno combine in the face of budget cuts, keeping the stronger of each pair of corresponding departments and cutting the other.
UNLV’s school of hotel administration would be preserved, for instance, because it is one of the premier programs in the field, but UNR’s journalism department might be favored to the downfall of our own.
If Nevada’s two largest higher education institutions were forced to merge under the banner of Gov. Gibbons’ proposed budget, UNLV would lose its most valuable assets and turn its back on the hard work of alumni.
UNLV is no stranger to the struggles of being a branch of a larger school. Our university was founded as the southern regional extension division of the University of Nevada, and functioned under UNR for its first 14 years. Students in the early 1960s protested the relationship loud and long and finally won its independence in 1965.
To regress now and bind ourselves to the ball and chain of a school hundreds of miles away would be a travesty.
The healthy competition between UNLV and UNR engenders a spirit in the students of both schools that motivates ingenuity and self-reliance. In eliminating that source of drive we would risk losing the momentum each campus has gained in the race for excellence.
The last year has seen a greater swell in school spirit and involvement than UNLV has experienced for a long time. The initiatives we have launched in opposition to the proposed budget have brought us alongside our brothers and sisters in the North and we have found a common fight, but by no means will we be satisfied by being tossed together as though our colors can be repainted to match.
We are rebels through and through. We must be confident enough in our own strength and hold enough respect and admiration for the will of the students at UNR to agree to oppose the combination and mutual devaluing of our schools.
Those who recommend merging UNLV and UNR, fail to acknowledge the fact that our school is run largely on the expectation of accessible education. UNLV boasts a large majority of in-state students and the ability to provide continued learning to many who could not afford to go away to school.
Forcing students who could otherwise have lived at home to incur the huge expenses inherent in going away to school by eliminating programs at their local institution would undermine the ideals on which the UNLV student body has been based for decades.
We should defend the rights of all Nevadans to quality education no matter where they live and not agree to force many to abandon pursuits of careers they love to be able to afford living expenses.
We must consider the statistically high proportion of part-time students at UNLV and realize that it would be unfair to ask those who work in the Las Vegas Valley to choose between quitting school to keep their job and changing jobs to go to school in a new city. A recession hardly makes for an acceptable time to suggest that thousands of workers still training in their fields abandon their incomes, since it is likely that no jobs will exist to support the students that have to move to a new city.
Never should economic hardship be reason for the utter dismantling of the goals of an educational institution. If we must, we will halt, but we refuse to go backward.
It would be nice if we had unlimited money, but the bottom line is that we do not. Personally, I’d rather see them eliminate redundant departments in some cases as opposed to taking money away from supporting orphans in the state or supporting patients in state hospitals.
It seems that all of the articles about UNLV budget cuts are people screaming that they can’t make any sacrifices. I have not seen articles on suggestions of cuts that could have less impact than others. Are there programs with 5 students and yet 4 professors that cost a combined $400,000/year? Is this a good use of taxpayer dollars? Could you switch some staff to 10 hour/days and have Fridays off so that you don’t have to run the a/c in huge buildings as much? Perhaps higher admissions standards if the graduation rate is not that high so that tax dollars support students that are going to graduate! These might not be great suggestions, but it would be refreshing to see an article about “We can help to make a difference”.
It was a pleasant change reading a practical opinion from a taxpayer. I completely agree with your opinion that there is unnecessary spending at both universities and that as part of a good compromise we should be discussing areas where spending could be reduced. My first thought is almost always teacher’s salaries. Quite frankly, they are overpaid. Next, fire Chet Buchanan. I know it sounds like I have a personal vendetta against the guy, which I don’t, it’s just illogical to pay someone during an economic downturn to tell people to stand-up and when to yell. I know his salary alone is pretty nominal, but he represents a culture of overspending at the university level. Then, all these departments that people are saying cannot be cut, well, some of them probably can and should be. Some departments are losing a lot of money. I’m not going to single out any departments because I don’t know the specific monetary lose or gain they are incurring, but I know they are all not as essential as they would like to think.
One point you made which intrigued me was when you discussed raising admission standards. I wonder if now would be a poor time to do so. After all, tuition is a huge source of revenue. The more students you admit, the more money you make, up to a certain point. I’m sure the economies of scale ends at some point. Also, UNLV has one of the longest graduation periods, it takes on average, a little over 5 years for a student to graduate. You could argue that the students aren’t smart enough and blame them, but being someone who attended UNLV for undergrad, I believe the curriculum is not set-up in a way that’s conducive to graduate in 4 years. And maybe, that’s on purpose for the sole reason of receiving five years of tuition money versuses four. I completely understand you not wanting to pay tax money for students who aren’t going to graduate, but honestly, your taxpayer dollar is being wasted in far worse ways.
There is no getting around the budget cuts. Students might as well speak up and say what they are and are not willing to give up. There has to be compromise. This is a great opportunity for journalism and business students! They could do investigative work and come up with solutions to share in the newspaper and with the administration. I think that this could give students an edge in job interviews because they show that they can analyze business problems and provide solutions! Don’t be shy! Take this opportunity to be the leaders of tomorrow.
Ryan, doesn’t the state give money for each student that enrolls? tuition is part of the money that UNLV receives but they also receive money from the state. less students would mean less state money needed. I do not fully understand the funding model, so maybe you are right that tuition is more than the state funds?
Salaries are not the problem as much as everyone loves to hate on admin and professors. The vast majority of them earned it. UNLV tuition is extremely low on the national stage. We didn’t need to raise tuition in a midnight session in December for spring, but we do need to raise it and significantly.
Las Vegas is the most anti-education city I’ve ever lived in. No one wants to pay for anything here. Taxes are really low. I’ve never seen such abysmal support for staff, administrators and teachers. I wonder if they wore sequined suits, danced around a pole or spit coins out of their mouths from time to time if the city would support them more?
The real change that needs to happen in in public opinion. You can’t just park cars for 80k a year anymore with a middle school education and own a home and an SUV. You job just got downsized to one shift a week, your car just got repossessed and your house foreclosed. Now what you going to do? or more importantly what are your children going to do?
Raise standards, raise tuition, make the least cuts possible and weather the storm.