OFFICIALS SAY NEW NAME WILL BOOST ENROLLMENT

students of color, 50% of our students or more are first generation, (and) they need a credential that will give them the same marketplace value in the workspace that they’re going into as students are in different institutions,” Pollard said.

Since the proposal was initially brought to regents in September, Pollard has worked with NSHE Acting Chancellor Dale Erquiaga, who raised concerns about the switch.

Erquiaga said the change from “college” to “university” could create complications under the Nevada System of Higher Education’s code, which is used to determine admission requirements, tuition and faculty salaries based on the Carnegie Classification of Higher Education Institutions.

Pollard went to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities — the organization that accredits higher education institutions in states such as Nevada, Oregon and Utah — to discuss these accreditation concerns.

She said the accrediting body told her that regents must first approve the name change before the commission can step in.

But even then, there is no formal definition of the university by the commission, so Nevada State College would have to instead undergo a review and approval process, officials with the commission said.

Pollard said she had worked with the acting NSHE chancellor on changes to the handbook procedures and guidelines manual.

These changes would hopefully be supported by the board and ensure that these rules are applied only to research institutions like UNLV and not to Nevada State College, which is referred to as a teaching university in the higher education field.

“We do not anticipate any major complications here, only a confirmation of what we have been doing, which is growing as an institution to deliver both undergraduate and graduate education,” Pollard said at the November Board of Regents meeting.

Regent Jason Geddes, who supported the renaming, pointed out in November that the formula for deciding faculty salaries may become muddled as a result of the name change. But Pollard emphasized that the issue of increasing salaries is a national one that shouldn’t impede the renaming process.

Pollard remains hopeful that all the work she and her team have done will achieve success. The name change would be effective July 1, and Nevada State College officials believe it will increase enrollment by 5.2% of first-time students in the initial five years.

“This is something I feel fairly passionate about,” Pollard said. “(And) I remain hopeful that, as a board, they will see the value of what we are doing and that they will be as innovative and courageous as they say they want to be and make Nevada State (College the) Nevada State University.”