NMSU Students Angry Over Tuition Hike

New Mexico State University students are angry over a series of price hikes going into effect this fall. The Board of Regents voted to raise tuition, housing and parking rates.

After having their tuition raised every year for the past few years, students said they’re frustrated and terrified of having to take out student loans.

“I’m already freaking out this semester with grades and bills and stuff I have to pay,” advertising freshman Anthony Quitario told ABC-7.

University officials said the tuition hike is necessary to give faculty and staff their first pay raises in four years.

“We’ve all been working very hard and often for not enough recompense for the work that we do,” said history Professor Jamie Bronstein.

Bronstein said she hasn’t seen a pay raise in years.

“Fifty percent of faculty at NMSU were getting paid below their percentile compared to their peers at other universities. In total, 75 percent of faculty across the country made more than NMSU faculty,” Bronstein said.

That’s why President Barbara Couture recommended the tuition hike that was approved on Thursday morning.

“We need to reinvest in our university, and make sure we don’t lose our best faculty because we’re not compensating them appropriately,” Couture said.

The hike will affect students at all of NMSU’s campuses, including their community colleges. The average full-time students at the Las Cruces campus will see a hike of around $107 per semester for in-state residents or around $400 per semester for out-of-state residents.

Several students expressed their concerns over the annual tuition hikes.

“We kinda pay a lot already for classes, books. I don’t think it’s really fair to raise the prices,” Quitario said.

“There’s a concern for those people who don’t have scholarships, those people who are paying their own way, it starts to add up, and it cuts into other things,” electrical engineering junior Marcela Orsano said.

President Couture said despite the raise in tuition, NMSU is still affordable compared to other universities. In fact, she said this is the lowest tuition hike the university has had in fourteen years.

“We can have students come here to a midsize campus that offers the best education they can get for one of the lowest tuition rates in the country,” Couture said.

University employees said they’re eager to finally see those raises in their bank accounts and get just a little closer to the market rate for their positions.

“I think it’s awesome. I’m glad the university has adopted this as one of our priorities. I think it can only make the university stronger,” Bronstein said.

The board also approved a three-percent housing hike that comes out to a few extra dollars per semester. There will also be a parking permit increase that is just a few cents extra depending on the type of pass.