The Student Fee Review Board passed a recommendation last week for a 12 percent increase in student fees next semester.
The recommendation was submitted to Cheo Torres, vice president of Student Affairs, on Wednesday for review, said Joseph Garcia, chairman of the board.
Board member Isaac Padilla said the money allocated by the SFRB goes to services that benefit all students.
The proposed increase means UNM students will pay an extra $47 next year for student services, should the Board of Regents approve the recommendations.
Last year, the fee for student activities was $396.12 after the board voted unanimously under former ASUNM President Brittany Jaeger to make no increases.
But next semester, students will pay $443.96 for the SFRB fee, if approved.
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The increase means the board's budget will go up from $8.2 million to $9.1 million.
"That's a lot of money," ASUNM President Ashley Fate said. "I think we need to take into consideration where that kind of money goes toward and whether or not it is necessary to the well-being of every student."
The recommendation calls for an additional $116,700 to go towards the SUB and $19,900 for athletics and the Center for Academic Support. Recreational Services would receive a $55,300 increase, and the library system an extra $70,400. The board also recommended a 57 percent increase for African-American Student Services and the Women's Resource Center. El Centro de la Raza received an added 35 percent and American Indian Institute an extra 55 percent.
"A lot of people feel that the ethnic centers are under-funded to start out with," ASUNM Vice President Matt Barnes said. "There are two different philosophies. One is that students should pay more for those services, and the other side is that we should try not to pay for those services and let the University pay for them."
Board member Lissa Knudsen said she was glad to see departments such as the Women's Resource Center receive extra funding.
"They've been asking for another graduate assistant for two years now," she said. "I think a lot of these programs are in desperate need of funds. It is actually more efficient for the University to retain students than recruit new ones. That is, we need to get people to have the support they need in order to graduate."
The recommendation is only the first part of a long process of fund allocation for student fees.
From Torres' office, additional requests can be tacked on, and the recommendation will go through President David Schmidly's office before going to the regents for approval March 12.
Knudsen said she hopes UNM's administration will listen to the board's recommendations.
"I am hoping that the regents will honor what the students have to say," she said. "It will be disheartening if the whole process is to make it seem as if students have a voice, when really they don't."
Torres said he holds the recommendations in high esteem and needs more time before he can comment on the board's decision.
"We respect their recommendations. We take them very seriously," he said. "We need to verify everything is balanced with the budget and agrees with the overall budget amount. The process will take some time, and it's still early in the process."
