Several presidential advisers, including GPSA president Christopher Ramirez, have expressed reservations to the Board of Regents about the plan to raise admissions requirements.
Ramirez said he knows students who transferred to Main Campus from CNM and UNM branches only to find out that their credits wouldn't be accepted.
He said the University's plan does not address which course credits will transfer when a student is accepted to Main Campus.
While students often receive credit for the core classes that are required for graduation, courses they complete for their major are sometimes not accepted.
"For example, say you went to CNM for your first two years and it looks like all of your classes are going to transfer over, like all of your general classes, but the problem is that (department officials) will say, 'Mm, that doesn't really meet our requirements, and we're not going to give you credit for that class that you took at CNM,'" Ramirez said. "The problem is the articulation agreement needs to also include the departments so that students know going into it which classes are going to qualify."
Ramirez said he has not received a straight answer from the administration on how this problem is going to be resolved.
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"My concern with changing the admissions policy, for requiring students to attend a branch college or community college before they come to the Main Campus, is just that we obviously really have to work on those articulation agreements," he said. "Think about it. You're a student and you're thinking that all of your stuff is going to transfer over to UNM. It would be really disappointing for you to find out that your classes weren't transferring, and sometimes you don't find that out until you have been accepted to the University."
Terry Babbitt, associate vice president for enrollment management, said the administration has been working with community colleges statewide to ensure a seamless transition for students to UNM. Community colleges included in the plan are San Juan College, Santa Fe Community College,
New Mexico Junior College and many tribal colleges.
Ramirez said he is also concerned that UNM has not encouraged students to transfer from community colleges and branch campuses.
Corine Gonzales, associate director of admissions, said the office has increased recruitment efforts for transfer students this semester.
"We have developed a new transfer plan with strategies to help with transfer recruitment, so what we are doing is obviously doing more visits to the branch campuses and community colleges throughout the state," she said. "We are also following up with students to help them get all of their missing credentials in.. We are also trying to work on the on-the-spot admissions. We are also doing e-mails and calling campaigns and have developed a transfer hotline."
Gonzales said the much-needed improvement of recruitment efforts for transfer students was galvanized by Carmen Alvarez Brown, vice president of enrollment management.
"When our new vice president came in, we tried to think of things that we could enhance, and the recruitment of transfer students is one of them, so that's why we got together a plan to try to recruit more transfer students," Gonzales said.
