UNM will not move forward with tuition hikes

The University of New Mexico will not move forward with a 1% tuition increase after the Board of Regents decided not to vote on the measure Tuesday.

The cost hike would have raised prices by about $86 per undergraduate student per year, yielding $1.4 million for the university, according to UNM spokesperson Ben Cloutier.

Regents voted Tuesday to advance a draft of the upcoming budget without an increase in tuition and mandatory student fees for UNM’s main campus and Health Sciences Center, nor a 3% increase in student fees at UNM’s Taos campus.

Regent Victor Reyes said he was not in support of the increase because the revenue the university would have received from a tuition hike was relatively insignificant.

“I think it’s a little bit disingenuous to say that this would put us in a precarious financial position when we are financially healthy,” Reyes said. 

Leaders from the graduate and undergraduate student associations addressed the board and urged them to reject the tuition hikes, telling the regents the cost increases would be unpopular with the student body.

“Many students live below the poverty line,” said Travis Broadhurst, president of the UNM Graduate and Professional Student Association. “Graduate students are receiving far less than the living wage … these are not trivial expenses.”

New Mexico Higher Education Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez also said she was against the tuition hikes in a statement Tuesday morning.

“These increases impact students, families and the state as a whole,” Rodriguez said. “With New Mexico’s investment in higher education, there is no justification for shifting additional costs onto the students we serve.”

Regent Bill Payne said Tuesday he supported the tuition increase — even though it was unpopular — so students could avoid sticker shock in the form of a large cost hike several years from now.

“It’s better to have at least some modest increases so two, three, four years down the road, you don’t have to come up against a brick wall,” Payne said.

The regents also opted not to proceed with a bond package that would have paid for a new humanities building at UNM’s main campus and technology needs at UNM-Taos. The package would have raised fees for students who receive two state scholarships that often cover tuition completely. Regents asked university officials to consider other sources of funding for the projects that would not increase students’ out-of-pocket costs.

As part of the upcoming budget, the regents approved 1% raises for university employees, as decided upon by lawmakers as part of the state budget last month. 

Tuition will also go up next year at the School of Medicine’s occupational therapy graduate program after the Board of Regents voted in favor of raising the cost from $143 to about $163 per credit.

University budgets must be finalized by the state Higher Education Department before the upcoming fiscal year. 

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.