ENMU officials hoping for funding

Eastern New Mexico University Chancellor Patrice Caldwell is watching and waiting this week to see if the New Mexico Legislature’s budget bill, House Bill 2, will rectify a history of inequities in New Mexico college funding that have disadvantaged ENMU, compared with other New Mexico four-year colleges.

While ENMU’s enrollment grew from 4,114 in 2006 to 6,014 in 2016, she said, funding through the New Mexico Higher Education Department did not keep pace.

“The state did not have the funding,” she said.

But even with more education money available, ENMU figures show ENMU at the bottom of the list on funding based on New Mexico Higher Education Department formulas.

In 2021, ENMU received $8,015 per student, ENMU figures show. On a per-student basis, the figures show ENMU at the bottom of a list of seven state-supported four-year colleges. The highest per student funding was given to the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, which received $18,890 per student. The University of New Mexico, the state’s largest at 18,832 students in 2021, received $10,480 per student, and the next-largest, New Mexico State University, 11,852 students, received $10,240 per student in 2021.

Caldwell said legislators have been made aware of ENMU’s funding dilemma, and she is hoping that with the state expecting a “watershed year” of high revenue as oil and gas income has soared, the history of inequity in funding for ENMU might be reversed this year.

“We are not asking that funding be cut for any other colleges,” she said, but ENMU seeks to get a fair share of funding among the state’s universities.

In January, the ENMU Alumni Association launched a letter-writing campaign to state legislators to make them aware of the funding inequity.

“I’m sure that is going to help,” Caldwell said.

In addition, the ENMU Board of Regents passed a resolution asking the Legislature to bring a “prompt resolution of this decades-long inequity” by adjusting ENMU’s funding.

Caldwell said on Friday that the under-funding issue was brought to the attention of legislators and Higher Education department officials in legislative interim committee meetings, and there was recognition of the issue.

The current 30-day legislative session ends Thursday, and Caldwell said ENMU’s leadership is hopeful.

Caldwell is also hoping for passage of an Opportunity Scholarship bill that would increase support for students seeking college degrees.

“That would be a very good advantage,” she said.