The New Mexico State University Board of Regents was scheduled to vote on 2017-2018 tuition rates at its meeting Monday, but the vote was tabled due to uncertainty with state funding.
The New Mexico State legislature recently approved a budget for the fiscal year starting in July, but Governor Susana Martinez has promised to veto tax increases in that budget, and says she will call the legislature back for a special session.
Proposed NMSU tuition increases were between 3.7 and 7.4 percent. Even with a 7.4 percent tuition increase, NMSU would face a multi-million dollar budget shortfall and the likely elimination of more than 100 positions.
In-state tuition and fees for full-time students at NMSU total about $6700 a year. It’s one of the lowest rates in the nation and about three thousand dollars less than the national average of nearly $9700 for in-state tuition at public colleges.
For the current academic year, the NMSU Board of Regents rejected a proposed tuition increase. The University of New Mexico increased its tuition 2.5 percent this year, about the rate of inflation.