The state budget (House Bill 2) passed unanimously in the House Wednesday night.
The Higher Education Funding Formula for the State of New Mexico will change from an enrollment-based system to a performance-based system, which supporters of the change said will give UNM additional funds and raise graduation rates.
The new funding formula allocates funds according to the number of courses completed by students and the number of students that graduate. Previously, the formula was based on the number of students enrolled.
Rep. Ray Begaye (D, Shiprock) said the new formula provides universities with more incentive to increase retention and graduation rates.
“I know from the students coming into the higher education setting, two years or four years, there’s been some indicators that students do drop out, so there’s a greater loss when students drop out of higher ed and complete at other schools,” he said. “This funding formula fixes it.”
Richard Jones is a House Appropriations and Finance analyst. He said UNM’s appropriation, $284.6 million for fiscal year 2013, is 5.7 percent more than the current fiscal year. The committee allocated $749.3 million for higher education institutions, a 5.4 percent increase from the last fiscal year. This appropriation also included a $1 million increase for the Health Sciences Center.
Of the total higher education budget, $29 million was allocated for the new funding formula, which awards universities based on student course completion and the number of degrees and certificates granted in the past academic year.
Jones said $15.5 million was awarded to universities based on student course completion, and $13.5 million was awarded based on the total number of certificates and degrees awarded by universities in the past academic year.
Other Notable Bills
SB 21, if passed, would fund $835,000 monthly, or an estimated $10 million annually, from gross receipts tax, to promote energy technology, industry and education growth. If passed, a committee created by the Senate will manage the fund and decide how to spend the allocation.
SB 16, if passed, would give a $5,000 credit to companies to hire New Mexico graduates within 18 months of their graduation by enacting “new sections of the income tax act and the corporate income and franchise tax act,” according to the bill, creating incentive for state businesses to hire New Mexico graduates. Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, said UNM students have done an exceptional job lobbying in favor of the bill, and said he believes it will pass easily.
HB 35 requires agendas for public meetings to be posted 72 hours before the scheduled meeting. It passed unanimously in the House Health and Government Affairs Committee on Tuesday and goes before a vote of the House floor. This means that meetings hosted by the regents, ASUNM, GPSA, and other organizations would be required to adhere to this law.
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Rep. Jim Hall ,R-Los Alamos, said one attendee at the HHGAC hearing expressed concern that the bill will prevent last minute agenda items from being added, a problem for committees that meet only a few times a year. Hall said he did not see this as an issue.
