Speaker of the Legislature Doug Kristensen said last week combining the two boards that oversee the state's colleges and universities was on his short list of legislative priorities for 2000. He advocated the change to reduce the number of turf wars, improve coordination, increase efficiency, reduce costs, unify planning and keep the cost of college education affordable for the state's students. Those are all laudable goals. What merger supporters need to prove is how consolidation of the state Board of Regents and the State College Board of Trustees will achieve all of that. Merger proponents face some significant obstacles.
Relative size is an obvious one.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with its 24,000 students, has little in common with Peru State College, with only 1,200 students, or less enrollment than Grand Island Senior High. In many ways, the three colleges and four universities are organized in logical groupings. Plus, the state has insisted on coordination so that students can move smoothly from one college setting to another without loss of credit. Another hurdle is the constitution. Merging the boards would require a change in the state constitution, which takes both legislative approval and a vote of the people.