With the end of the 2005 legislative session, the University of New Mexico is generally pleased with the outcome, especially full formula funding of its core operations and academic mission. However, several of the actions taken by lawmakers will present continuing challenges for the university, cautions UNM President Louis Caldera.
Tuition credit increased to 4.5 percent, up from last year's 4 percent and the 3 percent tuition credits of previous years. Because of the size of its enrollment and its higher cost tuition, UNM students account for the lion's share of tuition credit, which minimizes the amount of general fund money the legislature must provide to higher education (and which insures that tuition will rise by at least a corresponding amount.)
Legislators funded 2 percent compensation increases for higher ed faculty and staff, compared to 3 percent last year. "This will add to the difficulty we face in recruiting and retaining the quality faculty and staff needed to achieve our academic goals," says Caldera.
Providing funds for increased compensation above the state-funded 2 percent usually requires passing the burden on to students in the form of higher tuition. Caldera says this is something the university will have to take up with students, faculty and other constituency groups as it seeks input on budget issues during its upcoming budget summit April 1. UNM has a stake in several other legislative outcomes.
Changes to the Lottery Scholarship
The great majority of the bills seeking to change the lottery scholarship were tabled, including a decoupling measure which would have cost UNM students nearly $5 million in lost scholarship funds during the first year alone. "We are pleased that the legislature kept its promise to New Mexico students and families to fully cover university tuition with the lottery scholarship," says President Caldera.
Creation of Department of Higher Education
The university is pleased with the final version of the bill creating the Department of Higher Education, as it reflected many of the recommendations and concerns raised by the presidents and regents of New Mexico's four-year universities. "It is now our hope that the new secretary of higher education will truly champion the cause of higher education in New Mexico, and in particular, we hope the new secretary is someone who understands the role and needs of New Mexico's research universities."
Health Care
Once again, New Mexico legislators showed their support for UNM's Health Sciences Center and its mission. Most significantly, they provided funding for the first year of the BA/MD program, one of the university's top priorities, along with a funding mechanism that will support construction of phase 2 of UNM's Cancer Research and Treatment Center.
Athletics
The legislature was also supportive in meeting the needs of UNM athletics, funding the Tow Diehm weight room HVAC implementation, completion of capital projects for both men's and women's sports, and resurfacing of the track, among others.
Deferred Maintenance
The Council of University Presidents had endorsed a plan that would have created new funding to deal with the growing challenge of modernizing and upgrading facilities on New Mexico's college campuses as well as dealing with a tremendous backlog of maintenance projects. However, House Bill 717, which encompassed this plan was tabled. "The legislature will have to one day come to grips with this issue," says Caldera. "We are going to work diligently during the interim to convince lawmakers that we must find a way to deal with the deteriorating infrastructure on all of our college campuses."
Centennial Engineering Center
This is UNM's top capital outlay project. Last year, UNM requested $10 million for construction and received $4 million in the General Obligation bond approved by voters. This year, UNM requested $21 million to complete the project, and has been given $4.8 million in capital outlay funds.
Though grateful to the lawmakers who provided the funding, Caldera says "we cannot create a high-wage economy in New Mexico without an investment in science, technology and engineering projects at UNM. There are many other important projects in the pipeline that will continue to be deferred until the Centennial Engineering Center is funded."
Contact: Susan McKinsey, (505) 277-1989