UNM May Implement 3% Increase in Tuition

A preliminary budget scenario put together by University of New Mexico administrators calls for a possible 3 percent tuition increase next year and a one-time payment to faculty.

Students saw a 5.5 percent tuition increase last year.

University administrators, working with the school’s Strategic Budget Leadership Team, presented an initial draft recommendation at a Board of Regents’ committee meeting Monday.

The proposed 3 percent increase would amount to an additional $2.9 million for the university for the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to documents.

UNM is projecting about $173 million in funding from the state for the instructional general budget at the main campus. It’s the first time in three years that UNM’s state funding wasn’t cut.

In part, a tuition increase would fund a one-time, 1.25 percent payment to university employees whose pay comes from the instructional general budget. The preliminary scenario would include a pay increase only for distinguished faculty.

Also included in the plan is a one-time $1.5 million loan for athletics and $4.2 million for Provost Chaouki Abdallah’s five-year academic plan. That includes hiring 20 new faculty members, new advisers and increasing pay for distinguished faculty.

Also discussed Monday were proposed student fees. A board composed of students recommended a 3.4 percent increase in fees from last year, which some regents said would not be enough. Student fees are added on top of tuition.

President David Schmidly said one of his biggest concerns is a lack of funding for libraries and athletics, both of which are in part funded by student fees.

“I have a very high priority for us to consider investment in libraries,” Schmidly said.

He is not sure the total students recommended — $33 per student —”is an adequate number, so I think we need to look at the library,” he said.

Regent Gene Gallegos also said funding for libraries was a concern. “We’re way behind,” he said. “It’s not a matter of $4 or $5 per student.”

Another point of unease regards the athletics department, regents and the president said.

“We are under-invested in terms of what we’re doing with student fees and athletics, and I know it’s a lot to ask the students to give more, but we have to think about this not only in the short term — we have to think about this in the long term. And I would hate to see us begin to drop sports,” Schmidly said.

Gallegos suggested increasing student fees from the recommended $503 to $580, the difference of which would be split between libraries and athletics.

“Overall I think the budget’s well done,” Gallegos said. “There are many, many aspects of the budget that I’m on board with.”
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal