Silver City, NM- State funding for higher education was cut by 2.5 percent this past January, with further cuts pending. Normally, something like this can mean some drastic changes for Universities. Other New Mexico Universities had to lay-off several employees, for instance. Fortunately, things at WNMU are stable.
This is due to the foresight and planning of the University President, Dr. Joseph Shepard, who began preparing for potential cuts back in 2013. Because of this planning, WNMU is in a much better place than other New Mexico universities, for which Shepard gives credit to a strong marketing campaign, steady student enrollment and well-managed budgeting.
For students, higher ed cuts could potentially mean a raise in tuition. While this isn’t the case right now, it is important to note that, should this happen in the future, there are measures that returning students can take to keep their tuition price the same.
All returning students can keep their tuition at the same rate so long as they take thirty credit hours per year. That’s five classes in the Fall and five in Spring, or four in the Fall, four in the Spring and two in the Summer depending on your preference.
For faculty and staff, cuts could mean a number of things, from program cuts to layoffs. Fortunately, there are no plans for either at WNMU. This is due to efforts made by the university to save money. These include an early retirement plan for those nearing retirement age, as well as a slowing down of the hiring process, with some responsibilities simply being moved to another faculty or staff members job duties. The university also plans to cut down on travel and other expenses.
One of the advantages that Western had over the universities is that it’s enrollment and attendance stayed flat while other colleges suffered from drops. Shepard credits a lot of this with marketing, which has placed numerous ads for WNMU on billboards, movie screens, airports and online. In order to keep attendance up by continuing marketing, as well as forming relationships with nearby community colleges, inviting those who have received their associates degrees to make WNMU their next step.
There is also a hope to boost the sizes of Gen-Ed and Introduction-level courses, changing the target class-size number from 18 to 24. This is because, at the beginning of a semester, a class can have around twenty students, but finish with only sixteen or seventeen. This is designed to ensure that classes will continue to have many students throughout the semester.
It is a hard time for Higher Education in New Mexico, but fortunately Western New Mexico University has taken steps to ensure that students, faculty and staff will be just fine despite the cuts.
