The Office of International Programs and Studies could be one of the departments hit hardest by the proposed legislative budget cuts.
Thomas Bogenschild, director of OIPS, said nearly half of the office's operating budget comes from legislative support in the form of "special project" funding. The other half comes from University instruction and general funds, which legislators proposed reducing by 10 percent.
Bogenschild said the department could lose about $160,000, which could close the program forever.
"A 43 percent reduction in legislative support for OIPS will fundamentally cripple and likely destroy international study opportunities for all UNM students, including a UNM-run undergraduate program in Rome, student-exchange programs at more than 110 university partners worldwide, and support for short-term, faculty-led programming abroad," he said.
Bogenschild, along with concerned students, went to the state Legislature earlier this week when the proposed cuts were being reviewed. There they spoke with representatives in hopes of convincing them of the benefits of international education.
Bogenschild said UNM needs OIPS to help international students keep up with their legally required paperwork.
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"A cut of this size will jeopardize the University's basic ability to continue to host international students and scholars, due to the reliance on legislative funds to support processing and maintenance of immigration records as required by the federal Department of Homeland Security," he said. "It will also impact a critical pipeline for training international students in English as a preparation for formal degree-seeking status. Staff layoffs, program terminations and increased student fees will be inevitable as a result."
International student Japji Hundal, a masters student from India who has been in the United States for the past three years, said the loss of any aspect of OIPS would be unfortunate.
"My major concern is the faculty of OIPS being cut, because it is so important for the students like me who go there for help," he said. "Everything from English and laws to having workshops set up for us, having our taxes done for us and even setting up social platforms for international students and students from here to meet, socialize and share our different cultures with each other."
Student Jordan Worthington said she participated in UNM's international study abroad program in Rome, Italy. She said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"I can honestly say that I would never trade the time I spent in Italy for anything else in the world," she said. "It was one of the most beneficial things not only for personal experience, but also for personal knowledge about myself and for knowledge about another place in the world."
Now Worthington is concerned that budget cuts to OIPS will deter future students from studying abroad.
"If we get the cuts from the Legislature, we will lose a lot of funding for international students, which will make international students' fees go up," she said. "We already have a hard enough time trying to recruit international exchange students to come to (UNM), and that would just make it even harder, because the price is going to be far more expensive."
Losing international students could have an even greater impact on the state than it would on campus: Students from foreign countries contribute some $45.5 million to New Mexico's economy each year, according to the New York-based Institute for International Education.
Student Alyssa Rivera, activities director for OIPS, said international students' economic contribution isn't the only reason to fund the office. She said it's also important to make sure they have services that allow them to have a good experience in the U.S.
"For me, there's two main facets to international education, and the first is the clear fact that it's very economic . but it's also more than economics and more than sending students abroad. It's a matter of diplomacy," she said. "These students get the best possible experience they can and they come out of the University of New Mexico raving about it and they love it, and that not only reflects well on our state but our country, too, at a really important time in our history."
