Regents reluctantly suspend senior tuition breaks

The Board of Regents voted reluctantly on Thursday to take away the registration, application and admission fee breaks Nevada seniors now get when they take college classes.

Anyone 62 or older who is a Nevada resident can now attend class without paying any of those fees. The budget item applied not only to the breaks for seniors but similar breaks for certain people who are native speakers of a foreign language.

Regent Jason Geddes proposed continuing the break for seniors but was told by Vice Chancellor Jane Nichols the entire $1.1 million in savings comes from eliminating that break. Nichols said there are no foreign language speakers attending an Nevada college who are getting those breaks currently.

She also said those seniors are in many cases taking classroom seats that would otherwise go to paying students. The board also was told some of those seniors take the same classes over and over, further tying up classroom seats.

"I would strongly oppose this motion," said Regent Michael Wixom. "I don't believe we can afford it right now."

"I don't believe it's a benefit we can offer at this time," said board chairman James Dean Leavitt.

Chancellor Dan Klaich said the recommendation was the result of an examination of what populations the university system can afford to support.

The vote to preserve the fees breaks failed, after which the board voted for a motion to suspend the fee reductions.

The vote was the first the board took to implement the 2011 Legislature's budget cuts. More votes on specific reductions and changes in system policy including fee increases for students will be dealt with at today's meeting.