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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Faced with a tight deadline to launch a new, need-based scholarship, Nevada higher education officials on Thursday granted more authority to the chancellor to finalize program details.
The Nevada Board of Regents held a brief special meeting and voted unanimously to delegate some extra authority to Chancellor Dan Klaich to craft policies for the Silver State Opportunity Grant. Vice Chancellor Crystal Abba said staff members need extra flexibility to meet their goal of doling out grants by mid-August.
"This has been and continues to be a monumental task," Abba said at the meeting.
The Nevada Legislature passed a bill this spring that creates the grant and applies $2.5 million to the fund in each of the next two years. Abba said that leaves about 10 weeks to create detailed rules, while such a process might normally take a year.
The college and university system is still working out kinks. A preliminary "equation" for determining the size of the awards has so far yielded widely divergent numbers for students planning to attend different schools but who are in similar financial situations.
The extra flexibility is aimed at fine-tuning the formula to ensure the money is awarded consistently at the eligible institutions: community colleges and Nevada State College.
Awards will vary in size based on a student's financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It's not yet clear how many students will receive one of the grants.
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