The eight public institutions are under the control of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) (formerly the University and Community College System of Nevada "UCCSN") and are divided into comprehensive colleges and community colleges.
[1] An unusual characteristic of the community colleges is that they award bachelor's degrees in recognition of the limited resources of the state.
[2] The oldest college in the state is the University of Nevada, Reno was founded in 1874 in Elko, Nevada as a political compromise and later became a Morrill Act Land Grant institution.
The most recent public college is Nevada State University in Henderson, which was founded in 2002.
The private colleges of Nevada are divided into non-profit and for-profit institutions, with several branches of national for-profit institutions such as the University of Phoenix.