Ten candidates are vying for a spot on the Board of Regents to help shape the future of Nevada's system of public higher education.

The university paid Meyer $54,891 to speak at the 57th Annual Governor's Dinner on July 22, according to records obtained by The Nevada Independent.

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.

Across the country, the number of borrowers with defaulted student loans jumped by more than 4.2 million from April 2025 to March 2026.

Meanwhile, two Washoe County School Board incumbents faced no opponents in the primary, and scored an easy win.

The Nevada Board of Regents voted unanimously Friday to hire Sandra Richtermeyer as the next president of Nevada State University.

Officials say the new approach is returning promising results as the rates of students passing entry-level English and math courses are higher now.

Nevada's Board of Regents voted Friday to approve tuition increases which higher education leaders said were needed to fill an almost $50 million annual budget gap.

If the new tuition increases aren't approved, the institutions say it could result in hiring freezes and reductions in staffing, course offerings, programs and student services.

Gov. Joe Lombardo announced Wednesday he's leading a petition to amend the Nevada Constitution to keep transgender athletes out of girls' and women's sports, even though there are already bans in place at the state and national level.

The vote on the tuition hike was originally set for Friday, but was tabled for a later meeting.

The board that oversees Nevada public colleges and universities is voting Friday on whether to raise student tuition and fees over the next three years to make up a $46.5 million annual shortfall attributed to faculty pay raises.

Nevada has joined 20 states and Washington, D.C., opposing the U.S. Department of Education's cuts to programs that support disadvantaged college students, including three programs in Nevada.

The five-person IDEA council is responsible for keeping the system's diversity statistics as well as promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives among students, staff and faculty. Since its inception, the council has held system-wide anti-discrimination training and drafted the system's Juneteenth resolution.

The "return on investment" students get from NV's higher ed institutions is lower than the nationwide average, a potential cause for concern for college recruitment.

Many students at UNLV, even if they didn't personally participate in DEI programs, acknowledged that they provide important resources to the campus community. Several of the students interviewed by The Nevada Independent questioned whether the university's changes were actually tangible.

In this week's Indy Gaming, downtown Reno will have new non-gaming attractions and UNR student housing. Also, Spirit Airlines is furloughing hundreds.

Nevada State is one of several Nevada colleges to change, rebrand or shutter their diversity programs amid increasing federal scrutiny of DEI programs, which have become a target under the administration of President Donald Trump, who called them "absolute nonsense."

Nevada's higher education agency wants to "clarify" the rules of the faculty collective bargaining process. Why are faculty so confused?

Last month, the College of Southern Nevada ended its TRIO program after the Trump administration canceled its Student Support Service grant, which had provided $300,000 in funding for 200 students and three staff members.