Education Commons^™

Public University And College Enrollment In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Dielle T. Telada, Katie M. Gilbertson, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

On June 10, 2021, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released the Spring 2021 Current Term Enrollment Estimates (CTTE) report. The report provides estimated postsecondary enrollment numbers based on the Clearinghouse universe of institutions. The impact of COVID-19 related disruptions has caused higher education enrollment to fall to what the National Student Clearinghouse suggests are “new lows.” This fact sheet explores trends in higher education enrollment at Mountain West colleges during the 2020 and 2021 Spring semesters.

Perceptions Of Dental Undergraduates Towards Online Education During Covid-19: Assessment From India, Nepal And Sri Lanka, Pragati Kaurani, Kavita Batra, Himangini Rathore Hooja, Rajlakshmi Banerjee, Rasika Manori Jayasinghe, Dhanushka Leuke Bandara, Navin Agrawal, Vimmi Singh

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Purpose: The social distancing mandates instituted during COVID-19 pandemic mark the sudden transition in the mode of dental education’s delivery to the virtual instruction. It is vital to assess students’ perceptions towards virtual learning environments, particularly among those gaining education in resource-strained countries. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the perceptions of dental undergraduates towards online education, environment and transferable skills and patient care during COVID-19 in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Materials and Methods: Dental preclinical and clinical undergraduate students from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka were recruited from November 2020 to March 2021 through a 47-item web-based survey …

Cultivating Graduate Stem Pathways: How Alliance-Based Stem Enrichment Programs Broker Opportunity For Students Of Color, Ariana L. Garcia, Tonisha B. Lane, Blanca E. Rincón

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

To understand how higher education institutions broker graduate opportunities for Students of Color (SOCs) in STEM, we employ a single case study of a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) alliance. Drawing primarily from student interviews and informed by Small’s (2006) organizational brokerage theory, our findings illuminate how 1) alliance-based STEM enrichment programs (SEPs) bridge social capital via interorganizational networks and 2) how SEP instability creates barriers to building the trust that is central to the brokerage process. We conclude with recommendations for future research and practice.

College-Educated Young Adults In The Mountain West, Eshaan Vakil, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data originally published in “The Young and Restless and the Nation’s Cities,” a report prepared by Joe Cortright for the City Observatory. The original report explores the percentage of college-educated young adults (or individuals aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree), as well as the percentage these individuals made up of the total population in each metro area between 2000 and 2012. This fact sheet explores data for the following Mountain West places, as reported by the original source:

• Denver CSA (Combined Statistical Area)
• Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ Metro Area
• Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Metro Area
• Salt …

Postsecondary Educational Attainment And Health Among Younger U.S. Adults In The “College-For-All” Era, Anna Zajacova, Elizabeth Lawrence

Sociology Faculty Research

Population-health research has neglected differentiation within postsecondary educational attainments. This gap is critical to understanding health inequality because college experience with no degree, vocational/technical certificates, and associate degrees may affect health differently. We examine health across detailed postsecondary attainment levels. We analyze data on 14,750 respondents in Waves I and IV of the nationally representative Add Health panel spanning adolescence to ages 26 to 34. Multivariate regression and counterfactual approaches to minimize the impact of confounders estimate multiple health outcomes across postsecondary attainment levels. Compared to high school diplomas, we find significant returns to bachelor’s degrees for most health outcomes …

Brain Drain And Higher Education Capacity: A Case Study Of Nevada And The Western Undergraduate Exchange, Marie A. Falcone

Student Research

Policy initiatives such as the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), a regional tuition saving agreement among colleges and universities operating in the western states, have the ability to increase mobility and promote human capital attainment. This brief will be focusing exclusively on how Nevada’s higher education system and related programs, specifically the WUE, can be improved to further attract and attain a higher-skilled workforce. This paper will cover a literature review of brain drain and its effects, investigate Nevada’s relationship with human capital and the WUE, as well as offer policy recommendations to improve attainment.

2021 Salary Scores: University Of Nevada, Las Vegas And University Of Nevada, Reno, Olivia K. Cheche, Emmanuel A. Berrelleza, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet provides a comparative analysis on salary earnings for graduates of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Data are gathered from the GradReports website, which offers salary scores ranging from 0 to 100 for UNLV and UNR degree programs.

2022 Graduate Program Rankings, Unlv & Unr, Madison Frazee-Bench, Marie A. Falcone, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This Fact Sheet presents the 2022 U.S. News and World Report Graduate program rankings for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). The rankings for 2022 are important when taking into consideration that both UNLV and UNR reached Carnegie R1 status in 2018. This status marks their place in the top 130 research universities in the country.

Modernizing Tuition Assistance: Programs To Build A 21st Century Workforce, Mgm Public Policy Institute

Pathways for Postsecondary Education

This is the first paper in a series from the MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute at UNLV, exploring tuition assistance programs. This report provides a broad overview of tuition assistance programs, and key challenges and insights about best practices.

Covid-19: Higher Education Funding In The Mountain West, Olivia K. Cheche, Peter Grema, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

In February 2021, Victoria Jackson and Matt Saenz of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published a report titled, “States Can Choose Better Path for Funding Higher Education Funding in COVID-19 Recession.” The report presents data on changes in state spending for higher education, and tuition costs for all 50 states between 2008 and 2019. This fact sheet explores data on higher education budget cuts and changing tuition costs for four-year institutions and community colleges in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah).

Student Debt In The Mountain West, Class Of 2019, Kristian Thymianos, Eshaan Vakil, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

In 2020, Americans collectively owed $1.6 trillion in student debt, making it the second-largest consumer debt category nationwide. 1 However, this debt is not distributed evenly across the country. This fact sheet reports data on the amount and prevalence of student debt in Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), as originally reported by the Institute for College Access and Success (ICAS) study, Student Debt and the Class of 2019.2 This fact sheet also reports figures relating to the amount and prevalence of student debt for graduates from Nevada’s two public research universities: the University of Nevada, …

Fast Facts: Policy Issues In Nevada Education, Unlv College Of Education

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

Since 2004, the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (CREA) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has served as a major academic center that provides expert, nonpartisan program and education policy evaluation and assessment services for decision-makers in national, state, and local organizations. CREA also provides expert consultation on research design (quantitative and qualitative) for UNLV and non-UNLV researchers.

Policy Issues In Nevada Education (Full Issue 2021), Unlv College Of Education

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

No abstract provided.

The Viability Of Bilingual Education Programs In Nevada, Alain Bengochea, Elizabeth Greer

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

Problem. Approximately 15% of emergent bilinguals (EBs; commonly referred to as English learners) in Nevada demonstrated proficiency in math and English language arts in contrast with the general student population, which achieved proficiencies of 42% and 55% in these subjects, respectively. Therefore, there is a critical need for programs that are responsive to EBs’ linguistic, cultural, and academic strengths. Purpose. This policy paper discusses the need for alternative educational supports for EBs, the effectiveness of bilingual education models compared with prevailing English instructional models, and the possibility of bilingual programming as a viable option in Nevada. Recommendations. Nevada could require …

Retention Starts With Preparation: Preparing Black And Latinx Teachers Through Alternative Routes To Licensure, Iesha Jackson, Doris L. Watson

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

Problem. Critical to the support and success of students of color is support for Black and Latinx teachers. Yet, teacher preparation programs often neglect the culturally relevant perspectives and experiences of teachers of color. This can contribute to retention issues given challenging school climates that Black and Latinx teachers must navigate. Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of sound teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention practices nationally and draw alignment to the state of Ne- vada. We focus on alternative routes to licensure (ARL) because such programs are touted for increasing the number of teachers of …

Nevada Ballot Question 1: Reforming Higher Education Governance, 2020, Olivia K. Cheche, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr., Fatma Nasoz

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet explores voting data of 1,407,761 Nevadans who participated in the 2020 election through in-person early, mail-in, absentee, or election day voting. The Secretary of State publishes the outcomes of each race, and results are broken down by county. Voting data are displayed as raw vote totals and percent shares of the total vote. Also included are data on the number of voters who declined to vote on each of Nevada’s five ballot questions. These data are calculated by subtracting the “yes” and “no” votes for each ballot measure from the total number of ballots cast both statewide …

Community College Funding In The Mountain West, Peter Grema, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown

Higher Education

This fact sheet summarizes data from the Center for American Progress report “Tapping Local Support to Strengthen Community Colleges,” by Marcella Bombardieri. The original report highlights the potential for local funding to compensate for the resource gap that community colleges face throughout the country. This fact sheet reports data on Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah).