Saving higher education takes more than promise

It was interesting to learn that a 10 percent increase in student tuition would only make up 2.5 percent of the university and community college budget for the next two years.

A legislative committee voted Tuesday to cut 12.5 percent of the state's higher education budget. That cut will be countered slightly by a 10 percent increase in student fees over the next two years.

Gov. Jim Gibbons called for a 36 percent cut in the higher education budget, saying the cost could be made up by increasing tuition, selling patents and encouraging endowments.

At that rate, students fees would have to increase by 140 percent to make up the difference.

But what does that mean, really? Gibbons claims that Nevada's higher education fees has the lowest tuition in the nation. The per credit fee for a Nevadan attending the University of Nevada, Reno, is $145 for an undergraduate credit for the fall semester. A lower level course at Western Nevada College is $60, according to the Web site.

That puts the cost of a bachelor's degree at about $18,000 without books or room and board, not a bad price, overall. Raising fees to the level sought by the governor would increase it above $25,000, assuming that the same number of people still sign up for college with the new price, which is doubtful.

The Legislature is running about $800 million higher than the governor's budget without taxes. If everything stands, lawmakers are going to have to come up with that much in taxes and other revenues to make up the difference.

Raising taxes to save higher education and other state programs could have unintended consequences.