Should community colleges continue to be part of the state's higher education system or an extension of the K-12 education system?
Legislators are pondering that question among others as they begin a year-long study on how community colleges should be funded and managed.
The Legislature passed Senate Bill 391 in 2013, directing an interim study of whether community colleges should remain under the Nevada System of Higher Education or be overseen separately. The bill, which originally put community colleges under the Nevada Department of Education as an extension of the state's K-12 system, was amended to provide for further evaluation of the issue by an interim legislative study committee which held its first meeting in January.
The latest state higher education funding formula changed how the state's colleges, including community colleges, receive their funding from the state. The formula focuses on courses completed rather than enrollment. Upper-level classes - less available in community colleges - are given more weight.
"Smaller community colleges just don't have the volume to generate the numbers to compete," said GBC President Mark Curtis.
The net effect of the new funding formula shifts money from northern Nevada to colleges in southern Nevada.
One of the committee's tasks is to examine how community colleges can better adapt to the needs of businesses in their region to support economic development efforts. Relationships between community colleges and high schools in the communities they serve, as well as relationship between the college and business or industry, will be a focus.[[In-content Ad]]
