On Tuesday, March 17, the University of New Mexico Board of Regents contemplated using student facility fees to close a gap in funding required to complete several ongoing infrastructure projects, namely the construction of the new humanities building
The proposed fee increase would be accomplished using a $30 increase to the facility fee, and a $30 decrease to the mandatory student fee. However, the Lottery and Opportunity Scholarships do not cover expenses that are associated with capital, such as facility fees. 34,000 students in New Mexico receive financial assistance through the Opportunity Scholarship, and 10,000 students received Lottery scholarships during the spring semester of 2025, according to Source NM.
The facility fee increase would correspond to a 1% increase in base tuition, according to Board Vice Chair and Student Regent Victor Reyes.
“The humanities building being completed on time is important. It is simply a question of how we will fund the completion. There is still ample opportunity to make sure that we are funding the project to the extent that needs to be funded,” Reyes said.
Associated Students at the University of New Mexico President Andrew Norton and Graduate and Professional Students Association President Travis Broadhurst spoke in opposition to the increase in base tuition. Both parties cited rising costs associated with housing, food and general expenses facing students, arguing that further levying a fee increase on students is unwise.
“The revenue obtained from a 1%, or even 0.5% increase, is minimal at best. At only $1.4 million roughly in additional revenue, the impact to a University budget is weak. Yet, the direct student impact is significant at another approximately $60 a student,” reads a statement from Norton and Broadhurst. “As we have made evident to University leadership through numerous meetings, we believe the risk of an increase to tuition of any percentage this year significantly outweighs the benefits in potential revenue.”
Several concerns were also raised regarding the feasibility of completing the project on time if student fee revenue was not a viable source.
While the imposition of the cost is a difficult decision in the short term, Regent William Payne said, the cost of delaying the project further would make it more expensive due to rising costs, which would in turn be passed onto students.
“Time is of the essence here,” Payne said during the meeting.
Associate Director of University Budget Operations Vahid Staples said the gap in funding would be difficult to close without student funding.
There has been an increase in University revenue through a 4.5% increase in student enrollment from 2025, both because of a higher number of incoming students and higher retention, Reyes said. This increase has generated $6 million in additional revenue, Reyes said.
The Regents also approved several items on the FY 2026-2027 Budget Assumption, including a 1% increase in faculty and staff salaries and an increase in a deferential for the School of Medicine’s Occupational Therapy Graduate Program. The items struck were the 1% base tuition increase for the Main Campus and the 3% tuition increase for the UNM Gallup campus.
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The Budget Assumption approval passed 4-1-1-1.
Shin Thant Hlaing is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
