The Arizona Board of Regents will consider plans today and tomorrow to build a $4.85 million plaza at the center of campus, and will also discuss plans to double the number of nursing graduates, guidelines for top officials' salaries and regulations for off-campus learning.

The UA will seek approval to begin building the alumni plaza, which is funded entirely from gift money and would cover 108,000 square feet of Mall space in front of the Administration building.

The project, which includes fountains and a shaded walkway east of the Administration building, met opposition two years ago from people who opposed moving the cactus garden in the middle of the Mall. The garden is now being incorporated into the project.

The regents will most likely approve the alumni plaza without opposition, said Joel Valdez, senior vice president for business affairs.

"If there were state funds (used) there might be a problem," said Fred Boice, assistant secretary for the regents.

The board will also review a five year plan to double the number of nursing graduates in Arizona ÷ a goal set by the Arizona Legislature in the spring of 2002 to help solve a nursing shortage, according to the agenda.

The College of Nursing has already instituted an accelerated second degree program for individuals who have a bachelor of science degree in an effort to achieve the goal set by the legislature, said Linda Philips, an Associate Dean in the College of Nursing.

UA plans also include bringing the salaries of existing nursing faculty to market levels and expanding available classroom space, according to the agenda.

Phillips said that over the summer the nursing dean successfully petitioned to have the salaries of faculty temporarily increased, so the college is not currently suffering from faculty loss.

Part of the reason the salaries were raised was because of the need to replace the positions of the three faculty members killed in the shootings at the Nursing College almost a year ago.

The slain nursing faculty members' salaries were $10,000-30,000 under market levels, said Boice.

"Our overall salaries for nursing faculty were substandard," he said.

The regents will also consider a new policy establishing a committee that will look into salary guidelines for university vice presidents and senior executives who report directly to the university presidents.

This will not affect executive salaries anytime soon, said Boice.

"The three schools are going in different directions. Not every admin post will be paid the same amount of money," said Boice.

Boice said he didn't want executives to "run away" because they aren't being paid enough.

The board will also discuss its policy on classes taken off-campus.

There are no longer geographic boundaries limiting where the universities can offer instruction.

The universities will need to not only serve the 18-22 year old traditional student, but also those citizens who took a different path ÷ like working straight out of high school, according to the agenda.

Part of this discussion will include looking at online courses and the need to provide courses for employees on-site and at times convenient for the employees, according to the agenda.

"You're going to see an increase number of people that are time and place bound," said Boice.

He said there will most likely be an increase in the number of online classes offered, but he doubts there will ever be a time when students will no longer need to come to campuses in order to get a degree.

The regents will meet today and tomorrow in the student union at ASU.