WNMU Board of Regents Votes Not To Increase Student Fees or Tuition

© Western New Mexico University

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents unanimously approved the 2018-19 student fees and tuition amounts, which will not be increased, and voted to move ahead with the capital projects transmittal for underground utilities on campus and with the disposal of depreciated computers during their meeting on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, at Western New Mexico University.

In discussion about the 2018-19 student fees, student body President Tim Stillman said that while the distribution of student fees is changing slightly, the amount students pay will remain exactly the same. “Monies are being moved around between departments,” he said, explaining each increase or decrease individually.

Stillman said that student fees are distributed through a multi-step public hearing process and that the biggest increase is to Mustang athletics while the biggest decrease is to Student Life (Leisure). “These decisions were made based on student feedback and cross-checked with the university administration,” he said.

Regent Dr. Carl Foster expressed his desire for student fees to be reduced in the future. “I hope student government takes action to decrease the burden on students,” he said.

Regarding the 2018-19 tuition recommendation, Vice President for Business Affairs Kelley Riddle said, “We are not requesting any tuition increase at this time.”

Western New Mexico University President Dr. Joseph Shepard requested a continuation of the tuition guarantee, which allows students who maintain grade point averages above 2.0 and other criteria to pay the same tuition rate every semester.

Regent Chair Jerry Walz seconded Shepard’s comment, saying, “I hope students continue to take the opportunity to lock in.”

After the board approved the tuition rate, Walz said, “I’d like to see us hold that line for a while in the future.”

Riddle presented the Capital Projects Transmittal for Underground Utilities action item, which sets aside $485,681 for the construction project, saying, “This plan goes hand-in-hand with the College Avenue improvements we are partnering on.”

Riddle also explained the Asset Disposal action item. “These are all computers that have been depreciated, the bulk of which came from the lab in the Global Resource Center,” she said.

Western New Mexico University’s Information Technology department cleans the hard drives on each machine to prevent sensitive student information from being shared with other parties, and the university uses a service that picks up the computers for disposal but is also looking into donating some to other state entities, she said.

In his informational report as the student government president, Stillman briefed the board on the Associated Students of Western New Mexico University election process, which opens soon, and on some minor constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot. “Most changes are to grammar and sentence structure for the document’s clarity. There will be no substantial content changes,” he said.

Stillman also mentioned his work to promote consistency within student government. “We’re using more of a mentorship and shadowing process with future senate members, and we’ve been working on a five-year plan for student fees,” he said.

President of Staff Senate Dean Foster told the regents that his organization is refining the staff handbook and re-evaluating the self-assessment process. He shared dates for upcoming career development and training sessions, including a half-day conference this summer. Foster said during the staff salary and benefits study, the senate discovered outdated job descriptions. “Human Resources has created job analysis forms, and we’ll be drafting new job descriptions according to the feedback we receive,” he said.

Regent Foster said he would appreciate seeing the results of the salary report ahead of the April meeting, as the regents need to put together the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

President of Faculty Senate Dr. Andrew (Andy) Hernandez said he, over the course of his term, has worked closely with the university’s vice presidents to improve communication on campus. “You will begin to see the results of that in the next couple of months,” he said.

Hernandez, whose term ends this May, has also spearheaded the ongoing faculty salary study and said he would be able to share preliminary findings by the April board meeting.

Hernandez said the faculty aims to include more online instructors on senate committees. “Many aspects of online education are changing rapidly, and the amount of credit hours it’s bringing to the university has risen dramatically in recent years. It’s time for us to embrace that. How can faculty participate in shared governance if they’re not in the same room? I don’t foresee a day when the amount of online credit hours will diminish. Online instructors’ ideas and concerns will not diminish either,” he said.

President Shepard provided a legislative update. “We had a very good session as a university. Still, we’re doing more with less,” he said.

He updated the board on the College Avenue, Fleming Hall, Regents Row and Harlan Hall construction projects and on the recent school of business accreditation visit, among other news and events. “A national merit scholar has agreed to attend our university,” Shepard said. “If you’ve heard our mariachi program, you’ll note they’re in a class by themselves. This young lady is a participant in mariachi, and that’s why she’s coming here.”

New Mustang Athletic Director Scott Noble addressed the regents, too. “Our programs have great room for improvement in all aspects, not just scoreboard. The four building blocks we’re going to base this program on are selflessness, discipline, work ethic and kindness,” he said. “We’re going to recruit a majority of our athletes from within a four-hour radius from Silver City, New Mexico. Doing that gives family opportunity to come see their sons and daughters play, spend money in our community and build comradery that is lacking right now.”

Regents Janice Baca-Argabright and Dr. Dan Salzwedel phoned into the meeting, while Student Regent Arlean Murillo, Foster and Walz were present in person.

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents will meet next on campus on Friday, April 20, 2018. The meeting was scheduled around Great Race so regents can attend the traditional activities.

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