Funding for UNM could increase in 2004 after a state education committee voted 10-1 Friday to change the model used by legislators to determine funding for New Mexico universities and colleges.
The new funding model now only needs approval in the state legislature's next session to become a reality.
Julie Weaks Gutierrez, vice president for business and finance at UNM said, "under the new formula, UNM will get more money than under the old formula."
The new formula is meant to update the old one, which was established in 1970, and to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of New Mexico's colleges and universities. It will continue to be based upon enrollment figures, but will now also take several other factors such as total student credit hours into account. The State Legislature approves funding for New Mexico's universities and colleges.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force, the group formed by the commission and charged with evaluating the current funding model and creating a new one, presented its findings Friday and recommended that the commission approve the new model.
Tuition rates will not be affected by the proposed funding model, said Vanessa Hawker, director for finance for the Commission on Higher Education.
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The new model offers a "base-plus" concept. The "base" describes how funds, based upon the total credit hours taken by students, will be awarded to schools by the Legislature. The "plus" provides schools with an opportunity to receive funds in addition to those already awarded by meeting specific state requirements and goals such as offering summer school and distance learning projects.
Hawker said the incentives of the "plus" program determine "how to help UNM and how a school is responding to the state's needs."
In her presentation to the committee, Hawker said the changes made for UNM's funding will support increased access and economic development for New Mexico.
The proposed funding model is not only meant to help state institutions of higher education, but also the state itself. The proposed funding model would also be based on a limited number of measures aligned to state goals and focused on key institutional outcomes and efficiencies.
Within the new model, there is also a faculty endowment fund to retain high quality professors. It supports the recruitment and retention of faculty by the universities and will also reward faculty excellence.
"We're recognizing the true cost of instruction. Part of this proposed model is that it will be a living model so that as we need to do adjustments, we can," Hawker said. "It recognizes the compensation component and the inflationary component in a much better way than the current formula does."
The commission also addressed the New Mexico Lottery Success Scholarship. The board voted unanimously not to make any recommendations for change to the State Legislature.
