Ronica Spute always wanted to go back to college to get her bachelor's degree, but life kept getting in the way. Two years ago, her path was finally cleared thanks to a Nevada program that allows certain Native American students to attend college virtually for free. 

As a member of the Moapa Band of Paiutes, the waiver along with a scholarship from her tribe allowed Spute, 57, to pursue a criminal justice degree at UNLV and graduate in two years. It was one year less than it took her to get an associate's degree from the College of Southern Nevada when she could only afford to take a few classes at a time. 

"I don't think I could have done it if I wasn't able to go full time and dedicate every day to studying," Spute said. "I didn't have to worry about the finances. All I had to worry about was comprehending."

Since the state's Native American waiver program was established in 2021, it's grown from about 170 recipients in its first year to nearly 700 recipients during the 2024-25 school year.

"The fact that we have 700 people that have made the decision … to go to higher ed because of it just makes me so happy," said Assm. Natha Anderson (D-Sparks), who sponsored the 2021 bill creating the program. 

But the waiver's success has raised the price tag for the program, which receives minimal state funding, to $3.9 million in the most recent school year. After the waiver's eligibility was expanded in 2023 to cover more costs and include more students, including those from tribes outside Nevada, there were unsuccessful attempts in the 2025 legislative session to reduce what classes or programs the waiver could cover.

A recent report by the nonprofit and nonpartisan Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities think tank raised concerns about the program's financial sustainability, and recommends securing dedicated state funding to protect the waiver program's future. 

Addressing the funding is a legislative priority for the Nevada System of Higher Education's Board of Regents, which plans to request $13.4 million for it in the upcoming budget.

Anderson, who is up for re-election, said she wants to work to find more money for higher education to not only fund this waiver program but hopefully prevent further tuition increases for all students. 

How the waiver program came about

Anderson said the idea for the program was inspired by Native American students' high school graduation rates, which plummeted to 64 percent during the pandemic — 5 percentage points lower than their prepandemic level. 

While Native American students' graduation rate reached 75 percent in 2025, it's still 10 percentage points under the statewide rate. Anderson said she's hopeful that the gap will become more narrow as the program continues. 

But the waiver isn't just helping high school graduates reach college. 

John Oceguera, a member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe and the first Native American to serve as Assembly speaker in Nevada's history, said the waiver has been crucial for improving college access and equity for Native American students, and has even motivated older adults to go college to get a degree for the first time or return for a more advanced degree. 

"The university system is basically on land grant," Oceguera, now a lobbyist, said. "They are sitting on land that was traditionally these tribes' land that was taken from them, and I think it's only fair that these students are able to go to those institutions and be given that opportunity to get an education."

The waiver covers the full tuition and fee costs for certain Native American students who are members or descendants of members of federally recognized tribes, regardless of what level of education or degree type they are pursuing or program they are enrolled in, such as medical school. Non-degree seeking students taking one or more classes or who are seeking a certificate are also eligible. Students must also apply for federal financial aid and maintain a 2.0 grade point average. 

Though there's no probationary period, Daphne Emm Hooper, the director of UNR's Office of Indigenous Relations and a member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, says students can get the waiver back if they improve their GPA. Students can also use the waiver to obtain as many degrees as they wish. 

It initially started as a last-dollar program, meaning that it covered students' remaining tuition and fees after other federal financial aid or scholarships were applied. This approach resulted in some students qualifying for the waiver, but not getting any funding from it for the first two years. 

But in 2023, another bill by Anderson (AB150) converted it to a first-dollar program, allowing the waiver to be applied to tuition and fees first and leaving additional financial aid or scholarships freed up. 

"It allows many of our students to not come out of college in debt, and it gives them an opportunity to be a student and focus on that and be successful," Hooper said. 

But while the number of waiver recipients has grown, the number of Native American college students in Nevada hasn't moved much. 

Last fall, less than 1 percent of NSHE students self-identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native, according to a system data dashboard. The data also shows that Native American student enrollment has been fluctuating since peaking in 2016. Because it was only created five years ago, it's still too early to tell whether the waiver is making a difference to Native American students' graduation rate, which is measured over a six-year period. 

But NSHE is seeing an improvement in the rate of first-time, degree-seeking Native undergrad students continuing on from their first semester to the next — from 74 percent to 81 percent between the 2021-22 to 2023-24 school year. 

Some Nevada universities are working to spread the news.

Spute said she heard about the program after connecting with UNLV's Tribal Education Initiative and it also helped her navigate the waiver application process. UNR's Office of Indigenous Relations works to promote the waiver to high school, tribal communities and tribal education departments. It also does targeted outreach to new students during welcome events for incoming freshmen. 

But the Guinn Center report found that not all institutions have these resources. It recommends creating positions or offices dedicated to supporting students through the fee waiver process, and incorporating an automated system that could flag potentially eligible students within the admissions process and enrollment process while also increasing the support for Native American students once they are in college such as through mentorships. 

Anderson said one barrier to this is limited state funding. 

'Can't put a price on it'

During a Feb. 17 interim legislative committee meeting, NSHE Chancellor Matt McNair said the cost of all tuition waiver programs, including those for the Nevada National Guard and foster youth, "is putting a strain on the system." 

Of the state's five waiver programs, which collectively served 1,800 students last school year, the Native American tuition waiver is the least restrictive, most expensive and the second-largest by enrollment. 

According to a 2025 report, the cost of the program has increased from under $500,000 during the first year to $3.9 million during the 2024-25 school year — a sevenfold increase. Over those four years, state and one-time federal funding have only covered about 35 percent of those costs, leaving NSHE campuses to absorb more than $4.7 million.

During the 2023-24 school year, lawmakers appropriated about $1.7 million in one-time COVID funds and more than $400,000 in ongoing state funds, which meant NSHE only lost out on $77,000 in revenue because of the waiver. But those COVID funds are no longer available.

NSHE said in a July 13 statement that preliminary data for the 2025-2026 academic year shows the funding gap has widened even further.

Higher education leaders have taken steps to try to pare back the program. 

In 2025, lawmakers considered three bills (AB532, SB308 and AB397) that would have decreased the waiver's costs by changing which students, classes or programs could be covered, or it to a last-dollar structure. Lawmakers ended up only passing AB397, which would have limited the Native American waiver to Nevada high school graduates who are members or descendants of a member of any federally recognized tribe or a member or descendant of a member of a tribe that is based wholly or partly within the state, regardless of their residency. 

It also would have converted other waiver programs to be last-dollar programs. But the bill was vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, who was concerned that the change to waiver programs would "reduce Guardsmens' ability to use GI Bill funds for essential non-tuition costs such as room and board."

Anderson said she was supportive of the bill's efforts to limit the types of tribes that qualify to those with a Nevada connection, but she's conflicted on the other proposal to reduce the program. 

The Guinn Center's report found that students were aware of the uncertainty of the program's future, with some worried that they won't be able to finish their education if funding for the program disappears.

The report also notes that while the waiver is very generous, it doesn't completely cover all educational costs, such as books or housing. Oceguera said paying those extra costs can be difficult for Native American students coming from rural, low-income households. 

Anderson said the waiver is yet another reason why the state should pass legislation to generate more revenue for education — specifically, efforts to modify the state's property tax system that have failed in recent legislative sessions.

Oceguera said the waiver's return on investment — improving Native American students' lives — outweighs its costs. 

"Not only are those folks then really contributing to society and maybe potentially to their own tribe, but … they are also potentially then not on the public assistance because we've given them the opportunity to get an education, and they've gotten great careers from that," Oceguera said. "I don't know that you can put a price on that." 

Spute, the recent UNLV graduate, finds herself at a crossroads. She's considering going back to school to pursue a master's degree and working in substance use prevention. 

"Ultimately, I want to do something that's going to have a positive impact for my tribe," Spute said. "But finding what that is is going to be my next challenge."