Staff enrolled as students get to sign-up early for classes

Staff enrolled as students through the University of New Mexico had the opportunity to sign-up for Spring 2019 classes early — some of which will be free to them.

The Student Union Building Ballrooms A & B were bustling as representatives from various resource centers and organizations provided staff members with information about services and tuition remission on Monday.

Brian Vineyard said the purpose of the event was for staff to take advantage of priority registration and tuition remission.

“Saves them a little bit of money,” Vineyard said, referring to waived registration fees at the event.

Vineyard coordinated the event with Staff Council, an elected body that represents staff members at UNM.

He said the event costs about $1,500 to put on and it was something that is usually funded right away.

Ed Segotta, an accountant with the Bursar's office, estimated that about 1,000 staff members receive tuition remission for academic credit in fall and spring. Segotta also estimated about 450 staff utilize tuition remission

The UNM policy covers up to eight credit hours of tuition for fall and spring, and four credit hours in the summer semester. Staff who work at least half-time are eligible for remission.

Tuition remission is available to current and retired staff, according to the UNM Human Resources website.

“Generally speaking, for each hour of class in law school, especially when you start, it requires about three hours of preparation,” said Daniel Ortega, the Director of the Masters of Studies in Law Program.

But he didn’t want that to discourage staff from becoming students too. He said the staff members in his program were some of the most dedicated.

Some of the organizations present included the Center for Academic Program Support (CAPS), the Bursar's office, UNM Children’s Campus and the Admissions office.

Justin Garcia is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers ASUNM. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter at @Just516garc.