NSHE interim chancellor says Nevada has more graduates but community colleges still face enrollment challenges

Interim Chancellor Patricia Charlton told the Assembly Committee on Education that the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) has made measurable progress in graduating students but still faces persistent challenges, especially at community colleges.

Charlton, testifying March 2025 for the record as Patricia Charlton, said the presentation “provides an opportunity to take a moment and assess where the system and our institutions are in terms of our core mission, producing college graduates.” She said the presentation would focus on access, student success and workforce contributions.

The presentation outlined long-term enrollment trends and recent rebounds. Charlton said system-wide enrollment peaked around 2010 as Nevada recovered from the Great Recession, fell during the COVID-19 pandemic and showed signs of recovery through fall 2024. “Our 4‑year institutions are all doing well or holding steady in terms of enrollment,” she said, while “community colleges in particular are at a very difficult moment, and have really struggled with enrollment challenges.”

Charlton and Associate Vice Chancellor Renee Davis explained how standard federal IPEDS graduation measures and broader community‑college outcome measures differ. Charlton noted that the IPEDS graduation-rate cohort excludes many community‑college students because it counts only first‑time, full‑time degree‑seeking students; she said that cohort represents roughly 7% of community college enrollees in the denominator used for the 2023 rate. Davis described an NSHE outcomes metric that includes part‑time and transfer students and follows them for up to eight years, producing a fuller picture of community‑college achievements.

Charlton highlighted raw completion numbers, saying that from 2011–12 to 2023–24 the system’s completers rose about 62.3 percent, with individual institutions showing larger gains (she said Nevada State University’s completer count rose about 200% over the period).

The chancellor flagged demographic shifts and gaps. She said NSHE crossed a “50/50 minority‑majority” threshold in 2014 and that 64.5 percent of the system’s students are from historically underrepresented groups, but she cautioned there have been declines in American Indian/Alaska Native, Black or African American, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander shares.

On workforce outcomes, Charlton said NSHE’s teacher and nursing pipelines have grown substantially with legislature support: “We’ve had substantial increases in graduating teachers and nurses,” she said, citing increases of roughly 66.2 percent for educators and 63.9 percent for nursing graduates across the period described. She also noted a limitation in state wage‑record data: it shows graduates working in health care or education industries but does not reliably identify occupational roles (for example, a nursing graduate working in care who may not be practicing as a registered nurse).

Committee members asked for further breakdowns. Multiple members requested graduation rates by race/ethnicity, program‑level outcomes, and the fate of students who leave community colleges before finishing degrees. Charlton and Renee Davis said the system posts dashboards on the NSHE website and offered to provide committee staff with more detailed breakouts.

Representatives from several institutions described outreach and dual‑enrollment efforts that they said help both access and preparation. Kyle Delpe (Western Nevada College) told the committee dual‑enrollment succeeds in rural areas because “we go to the high schools,” and UNLV and UNR representatives described collegiate academies and partnerships that bring college coursework to high schools. Jeffrey Alexander of Truckee Meadows Community College said TMCC requires instructors to have disciplinary credentials for dual‑credit courses and described campus programs that allow high‑school students to graduate with college credits.

Why it matters: The presentation framed NSHE’s work as central to Nevada’s workforce strategy and to efforts to close racial and participation gaps. The chancellor credited legislative support for recent growth while stressing the continuing need to focus on community‑college access and support for underrepresented groups.

Looking ahead: Charlton and staff told the committee they will provide requested breakdowns on race/ethnicity graduation rates, program‑level placement data, and gateway‑course completion figures, and continue work on the adequacy and equity studies tied to the state funding formula.