The Student Fee Review Board has made its final recommendations for the use of student fees for the fiscal year 2016-17.
The SFRB gave thumbs down to increasing student fees, which means applicant budget cuts were recommended.
“This year was really hard for the board. We were faced with about a half-million dollar deficit that we had to overcome before we looked at any of the department's budgets, and then we had to face declining enrollment,” SFRB Chair and GPSA President Texanna Martin and SFRB Vice-Chair and ASUNM President Jenna Hagengruber said in a joint statement.
They said the SFRB decided before addressing individual budgets that it would not recommend a student fee increase, which was also difficult because it meant some important departments had to face some cuts.
“Students will not see an increase in fees from SFRB on their bursar account next year, and that was our main goal. There are a few departments that are going to have to run a little leaner, but we are confident that even with the cuts our university will be able to provide great services to its students,” they said.
Martin and Hagengruber said that the SFRB really tried to do the best it could for students.
“Overall, we did not give an increase to any department, and that was across the board. In order to make sure that students weren't hit with more fees come the beginning of the semester, it meant making some cuts,” they said.
They said that the board used about a 1.5 percent cut as its baseline, but looked at each budget individually and either cut a little more or a little less based on a huge variety of factors.
“No one was slashed arbitrarily. We had a pre-determined target budget that would allow us to recommend no increases, and we cut just until we hit the target,” they said.
According to the final recommendations from the SFRB, last year's board recommended that the Student Activity Fee total $17,119,859.
“The institution did a five percent holdback on all budgets for fiscal year 16, and this board would request that 1.5 percent of that five percent be held back to cover a $450,000 deficit. The fiscal year 16 projected year end deficit is $450,000, and the 1.5 percent hold-back will result in $489,100,” according to the document.
“Last year's board faced a different financial climate and was able to offer some departments increases, but they also recommended a small fee increase. Due to other fees that are going to be implemented in the near future, we decided not to do that, so there were budget cuts instead of increases. It's a hard call to make - cutting budgets or raising fees - and every board looks at it a little differently,” Martin and Hagengruber said.
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This year the SFRB also voted to divide the future reserve in half. The current recommendation is for $176,201 for fiscal year 17, which would leave $180,887 for next year’s board, according to the SFRB final recommendations.
According to the document the 2016-17 SFRB encountered several issues with the applicants; some units did not attend mandatory sessions, filed late applications or did not attend their designated hearing date and time.
“The board felt that the units should be held accountable but didn’t want to harm the student’s programs. The board would like to find a way to hold the units accountable for not following guidelines without impacting the students who benefit from the services that the units provide,” according to the document.
Zubair Abro, an anthropology graduate student, said that the SFRB made the right call by not recommending an increase in the student fees and making wallet's even lighter.
“Increases in student fees directly affect the students. It also affects the admission process,” he said.
He said a stable tuition fee will also help the University in the enrollment process.
Martin and Hagengruber said the SFRB process begins every year in August, and the board loves hearing feedback from students.
The board holds forums every year in October, but students can always email the board at asunm@unm.edu, they said.
“The board has a fiscal responsibility to ensure that student services can continue as the University is faced with decreased enrollment. This was a key factor as we went through the process of safeguarding recruitment initiatives, and student employment,” Martin and Hagengruber said.
Sayyed Shah is the assistant-news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at assistant-news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @mianfawadshah.
