UNM-LA Advisory Board members Michelle Hall, Steve Boerigter, David Sutton and Shelia Schiferl visit before Monday’s meeting gets underway. Member Pat Soran was unable to attend. Photo by Nancy Coombs/UNM-LA
Dean of Instruction Dr. Sharon Hurley and Director of Business Operations Bob Harmon share a few words at the meeting. Photo by Nancy Coombs/UNM-LA
UNM-LA News:
The UNM-Los Alamos (UNM-LA) Advisory Board held its first meeting of the 2017-2018 school year Monday, led by Board President Steve Boerigter.
Highlights of the meeting included introduction of new staff and UNM-LA enrollment trends.
UNM-LA CEO Dr. Cindy Rooney introduced two new staff members, hired to fill positions vacated by retirement. Dr. Sharon Hurley now serves as the Dean of Instruction, having served as Associate Dean of Instruction since August 2016. Bob Harmon accepted the position of Director of Business Operations and began work Sept. 7.
As part of the action items, the Board held an annual review of the UNM-LA Bylaws and Operating Agreement and approved both for another year.
Three issues in higher education that Dr. Rooney touched on include the number of colleges in the state, the governance structure of colleges in New Mexico and reasons why enrollments are declining across the state.
She spoke about enrollment numbers at UNM-LA saying that the college still shows growth in particular groups of students, although total enrollment is down this semester.
“Between 2012 and 2017, we had overall growth in enrollment of 31 percent. As reported in the media, most higher education institutions had overall declines during that period,” Dr. Rooney said. “We do have a decrease this fall, due to fewer students from other UNM campuses taking classes at UNM-LA. Yet, we continue to show enrollment growth in UNM-LA degree seeking students, non-degree students, and dual credit and concurrent enrollment students.”
Compared to fall 2016, the number of degree seeking students increased by 11 percent and the number of non-degree seeking students increased by 13 percent. The overall decline in enrollment headcount for the fall 2017 semester can be directly attributed to a decline in the number of students from other UNM campuses, which decreased by 32 percent.
The UNM-LA Advisory Board meetings are open to the public. The next meeting is 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13 in the Building 2 Lecture Hall. To see agendas and minutes from past meetings, visit https:////losalamos.unm.edu/faculty-staff/administration/advisory-board/.
UNM–Los Alamos is an innovative, rigorous and affordable comprehensive branch community college that provides foundations for transfer, leading-edge career programs, and lifelong learning opportunities.
Business Operations Director Bob Harmon smiles as CEO Dr. Cindy Rooney introduces him to the UNM-LA Advisory Board. This took place Monday on Harmon’s third day on the job. Photo by Nancy Coombs/UNM-LA
