Education Commons^™

Investing In The Future: A Case Study On Demographic Trends And The Policy Implications For Clark County School District, Joshua Alexander Padilla

Student Research

Clark County School District (CCSD) is the 5th largest school district in the nation. Through the use of the United States Census Bureau’s 2020 ACS 5-year survey, demographic trends will be analyzed for CCSD. This brief will focus on three demographic trends that have direct connections to educational success. Those three demographic trends are: internet access, poverty level (households on SNAP), and school enrollment. Potential policy interventions include technology device loan programs, adopting meal programs for students and their families, and new staff recruiting plans for CCSD.

Death And Dignity: Approaches To Medical Aid-In-Dying And Recommendations For Nevada, Cecilia Winchell

Student Research

Advancements in medicine, surgery, and treatment have prolonged life spans in a way that presents new considerations for death and dying. When it comes to terminal illnesses, all of these innovations increase life expectancy but cannot do the same for a patient’s quality of life. In fact, many people with terminal illnesses lose their autonomy and dignity, leading to the emergence of assisted dying as a way to provide terminally ill patients with an alternative to palliative care. This report takes a look at how assisted dying has developed within the US over the past two and a half decades, …

The Relationship Between Residential Land-Use Regulations And Regional Air Pollutants, Caren Royce Yap

Student Research

As cities continue to grow at exponential rates, land use regulations, specifically density restrictions, have been implemented to mitigate economic effects, from increasing housing prices to difficult public transportation construction. These regulations range in type, taking into account factors regarding the most effective urban form for cities and recently the presence of COVID-19. Land use effects on housing prices are also adjacent to tackle the climate crisis. Two of the most common air pollutants, PM 2.5 and Ozone, are run in a comparative analysis to areas with varying measures of density restrictions to detect a possible association using multiple regression …

Teacher Salaries In The Mountain West, 2019 - 2021, Corryn Richardson, Joshua Padilla, Hira Ahmed, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet examines state-level data of teacher salary benchmarks from the National Education Association, a labor union representing public school teachers and other education faculty in the U.S. Data are presented on average teacher salaries, average teacher starting salaries, and teacher pay penalties in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah).

Strengthening The Southern Nevada Workforce Pipeline, Katie M. Gilbertson

Policy Briefs and Reports

This report analyzes the Southern Nevada employment ecosystem by utilizing occupational clusters recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. The first section examines occupations in the tourism industry using three occupational clusters: hospitality and leisure; arts, audio/video technology and communications; and the transportation, distribution, and logistics. Next, this report utilizes the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance’s 2022 Workforce Blueprint to identify the top 15 in-demand occupations for Southern Nevada and occupational clusters. A case study of the MGM College Opportunity Program (COP) is presented to demonstrate an existing workforce training program that promotes upward mobility of leisure and hospitality employees …

The Evolution Of The Southern Nevada Healthcare Economy: Building The Unlv Academic Health Center, The Lincy Institute

Lincy Institute Events

With the successful launch of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and the completion of its medical education building, Southern Nevada is positioned to expand its healthcare infrastructure - and its healthcare economy - to create a comprehensive, integrated healthcare system to serve our fast-growing community. As UNLV moves forward with the development of an integrated academic health center within the Las Vegas Medical District, understanding the economic and social benefits of such a transformational project is important to stakeholders throughout the region.

The Lincy Institute hosted representatives of Tripp Umbach - the nation's leading consultant on community …

Science And Engineering State Indicators: Mountain West States, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines the Science & Engineering State Indicators database from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

The Great Student Swap, Aaron Klein

Policy Briefs and Reports

For the last twenty years, nearly every flagship university in the U.S. has been decreasing its share of in-state students and enrolling more students from out of state, a phenomenon I call the “Great Student Swap.” Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), I examine every “flagship” public university by comparing incoming first year students from 2002 through 2018 (those who would have graduated in the spring 2022 assuming the traditional four-year timeframe for completion). I find that the share of out-of-state students has risen by an average of 55 percent since 2002 and that 48 of …

Public Charter And District Public Schools In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Zachary Billot, Kristian Thymianos, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet explores data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) report, “Voting With Their Feet: A State-Level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Trends.” Specifically, we examine enrollment trends for district public schools and public charter schools in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

Economic Mobility Index Of Public R1 Universities In The Mountain West, Peter Grema, Saha Salahi, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents data on public R1 higher education institutions in the Mountain West from the “Economic Mobility Index,” crafted by higher education researchers at the think tank, Third Way. We summarize the rankings of eleven Mountain West R1 institutions in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

Student Loan Debt In Mountain West States, Zachary Walusek, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet summarizes findings on student loan debt across Mountain West states from “Student Loan Debt by State,” a report by the Education Data Initiative.

Changes In State Fiscal Support For Higher Education In The Mountain West, 2016-2021, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet explores higher education budget appropriation changes from fiscal year 2016 (FY16) to fiscal year 2021 (FY21) in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet reports data original presented in the 2021 Inside Higher Ed report, “States Maintain Higher Ed Funding,” by Emma Whitford.

Experimental Evidence On Consumption, Saving, And Family Formation Responses To Student Debt Forgiveness, Jason Jabarri, Stephen Roll, Mathieu Despard, Leah Hamilton

Social Policy Institute Research

As policy-makers grapple with whether or not to forgive student debt, for who, and how much, it is important to explore how student debt forgiveness would relate to intended household decisions and behaviors. We conducted a survey experiment that asked participants with student debt to imagine a scenario in which the federal government forgave a certain amount of student debt. We then had these participants report on how this would affect their decisions and behaviors. 1,053 participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions that offered $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, and complete debt forgiveness. Our results indicate that student debt …

State School Finance In The Mountain West, 2019, Kristian Thymianos, Ally M. Beckwith, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet examines K-12 school finance indicators drawing from an original report by Albert Shanker Institute and Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. These indicators show whether states are funding school districts to national standards. This fact sheet examines state-level data for the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) from the State School Finance Profiles report for the 2018-2019 school year.

Student And Faculty Diversity: University Of Nevada, Las Vegas (Unlv) And University Of Nevada, Reno (Unr), 2012-2020, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet highlights data on the racial and ethnic diversity of students, tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, and non-tenured/tenure-track faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Data are presented for each year from 2012 to 2020. The UNLV Office of Decision Support and representatives at UNR assisted in the compilation of this data.

Workforce Development: A Comparative Analysis Of Community College Governance And Funding In The Mountain West And Policy Proposals For Nevada, Peter Grema

Student Research

Nevada experienced one of the worst economic downturns in the nation following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed the vulnerability of Nevada workers. In his 2021 State of the State address, Governor Steve Sisolak highlighted aligning the state’s workforce development capacity with community colleges to best leverage federal funding and statewide infrastructure for jobs training and economic recovery. In addition, he said, “I will be asking the Legislature to work with the Nevada System of Higher Education over the next two years to develop a framework transitioning Nevada’s community colleges to a new independent authority that will focus …

Closing The Racial Gap: The Lack Of Diverse Faculty At The University Of Nevada, Las Vegas And University Of Nevada, Reno, Olivia K. Cheche

Student Research

In September 2021, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) reclaimed its status as the nation’s most diverse university, according to U.S. News and World Report rankings. However, despite having such a diverse student body, the institution’s faculty population continues to be predominantly white. This report explores the gap in racial diversity between students and faculty members at Nevada’s two research universities: UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). As one of the most racially diverse states in the United States, Nevada is an ideal case study for understanding this gap in racial diversity, and an ideal laboratory for …

Strengthening The Southern Nevada Workforce Pipeline, Katie M. Gilbertson

Student Research

Workforce development has been a keystone in the discussion of economic diversification of Las Vegas for decades. The leisure and hospitality industry is the lifeline for the Southern Nevada economy due to the reliance on tourism as the city’s main economic driver. The leisure and hospitality industry requires physical labor and more face-to-face customer interaction than other employment sectors. Thus, these jobs often do not require high educational attainment, but rather sharp soft skills like effective listening, nonverbal communication, and negotiation strategies. While these are valuable traits, the lack of educational attainment within the leisure and hospitality workforce suppresses employees’ …

2023 Graduate Program Rankings, Unlv & Unr, Olivia K. Cheche, Joshua Padilla, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet highlights the 2023 U.S. News and World Report graduate program rankings for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Rankings are displayed for graduate programs in the following fields: business; education; engineering; fine arts; law; medical; sciences and mathematics; and social sciences and humanities.

Both UNLV and UNR first achieved Carnegie R1 status in 2018 and retained the designation of very high research activity in December 2021. The graduate program rankings explored in this fact sheet help to illuminate efforts toward enhancing graduate education, an important metric to achieving and …

Legislative Bill 519: Creating And Lobbying For Original Legislation, Brooklyn Terrill

Honors Theses

This project reflects the process of writing and attempting to pass state legislation, Legislative Bill 519, as a college student. LB 519 is an immunity policy for certain drug and alcohol charges that would be potentially prohibitive to a survivor or witness of sexual assault reporting the crime. The first several sections cover the process of developing and introducing legislation. These sections cover the process of developing the idea for LB 519 and the thought process behind the language and structure of the bill. It then covers the advocacy portion of passing a bill which includes testifying and lobbying for …

2014-2019 National Science Foundation (Nsf) Rankings By Total R&D Expenditures, Katie M. Gilbertson, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet presents National Science Foundation (NSF) funding data for 10 individual research universities in addition to the combined funding received by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) for the years 2014 to 2019.