SFRB proposes increase to student fees

The Student Fee Review Board has made its initial recommendations for the use of student fees for 2016, and will be making their final recommendations on Dec. 4.

The SFRB has recommended an overall increase to student fees of less than 2 percent for the financial year 2016.

The board felt that this provided accessibility to students both in the form of affordability and in the form of resources necessary for student success, said Rachel Williams, president of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico and chair of the Student Fee Review Board.

“The board was highly cognizant of balancing these two forces with the overall goal of delivering higher education in the best way possible as the state’s flagship university,” Williams said.

Following the initial presentation to the Budget Leadership Team, the SFRB met on Saturday to revise and improve recommendations based on feedback, she said.

The SFRB ensured that they supported critical programs and assessed how helpful these programs were to students, said Texanna Martin, Graduate and Professional Student Association president and vice-chair for the SFRB.

“This is a question that we asked in our application to identify those specific programs that contribute to student success. The board agreed to recommend new programs for funding on a pilot basis with a recommendation to the next SFRB to ask for a progress report on the results and outcomes of their programs,” Martin said.

In its preliminary recommendations, SFRB recommended three new applicants for funding: the Graduate Resource Center, College Enrichment Program, and the College Assistance Migrant Program.

SFRB has recommended increases in the budget of nine departments, clubs, organizations and projects.

According to the preliminary recommendations document sent to the Budget Leadership Team, four organizations, clubs or projects that received funding last time have not been recommended for any funding in financial year 2016. SFRB has also recommended a decrease in funding for Project for New Mexico Graduate Students of Color.

The organizations, clubs or departments that have been recommended for an increase in funds include: Center for Academic Programs and Support, Community Engagement Center, El Centro de la Raza, Information Technologies, Student Activities Center, Student Health and Counseling, New Mexico Union (Student Union Building), Global Education Office and University Libraries.

Applications from the Accessibility Resource Center, Sustainability Services/Green Fund, Student Patrol and an unnamed project proposed by The Dean of Students Office were not recommended for further funding due to different reasons.

“The SFRB determined that the Student Patrol should be funded at $0 out of concerns for student safety and necessity for such a program during daytime hours,” the document stated.

The SFRB determined that the Green Fund should be funded at $0 given the fund’s inability to report back on successful student-initiated projects due to changes in the SFRB timeline, according to the document.

The board decided not to use student fees to fund an “out-of-classroom” experience proposed by the Dean of Students office, and suggested they look for outside funds.

“The SFRB would like to recognize the Dean of Students for their creative proposal seeking to engage students in the ‘out-of-classroom’ experience,” the document stated. “However, this board does not see itself as an investment entity, and therefore cannot make decisions based on return on investment.”

The board also decided not to accept a proposal from the Accessibility Resource Center to fund a program providing help with note-taking for disabled students. The board said the issue of a lack of applicants for the note-taking program was not an issue of funding, but of advertising, according to the document.

Williams said the SFRB kept in mind that each and every dollar being requested would be a dollar paid out of students’ pockets.

“The SFRB faced difficult decisions. Student success and prioritizations of programs is a very difficult thing to do when posed with many worthy applications that offer different beneficial opportunities,” Williams said. “The board represented a huge diversity of thought, and through back and forth discussion and dialogues the Board weighed and balanced recommendations to be in the best interest of students.”

Sayyed Shah is the assistant news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistant-news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @mianfawadshah.