Notes from the Sept. 24, 2002 Regents Meeting

by George Zamora

ALBUQUERQUE, September 25, 2002 -- Student enrollment at New Mexico Tech has increased to 1,765 undergraduates and graduates this fall semester, according to a census taken after the end of regular registration for classes at the state university in Socorro.

A larger-than-usual entering class of 360 freshmen and transfer students swelled the ranks of new entering students by 39 percent and increased the overall student population at New Mexico Tech to nine percent more than last year's enrollment figure of 1,620 students, according to a report presented to the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents.

During the board's September 24 meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico Tech President Daniel H. López also told the regents that the academic quality of new students enrolling at the university this academic year is "extremely high," based on the high percentage of entering freshmen--about 70 percent -- who have passed the Advanced Mathematics Placement Test.

In other matters considered at the Tech Board of Regents meeting, the regents approved several Research and Public Service Projects Appropriation Requests, which will now be submitted to the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE) for its consideration for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

More than $2.9 million in additional funding is being sought to supplement existing research and public service projects at New Mexico Tech, including most of the university's major research divisions, along with start-up funding for a new Center for Exemplary Practices in Science, Mathematics, and Technology.

The New Mexico Tech Board of Regents also took official action on the following matters during its monthly meeting:

• approved an annual resolution to remain in compliance with the New Mexico Open Meetings Act;
• approved the expenditure of $498,000 during the current fiscal year for purchase of library periodical subscriptions;
• approved a consulting agreement between New Mexico Tech and EWA Services, Inc. of Herndon, Virginia, to provide research and consulting services for the university's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC);
• approved a resolution for New Mexico Tech's participation in the State of New Mexico's 457 Deferred Compensation Plan as administered by the Public Employee's Retirement Association (PERA) Board;
• approved an annual security clearance exclusion resolution that applies to all members of the board of regents;
• approved a budget adjustment request to allow departments and divisions in the university to carry forward any remaining funds from the previous fiscal year; and
• approved an Asset Capitalization Policy in order for New Mexico Tech to comply with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) statements concerning reports and depreciations of capital assets owned by government entities, such as Tech.

In addition, the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents were informed that Mark P. Cal, assistant professor of environmental engineering at Tech, had recently had been appointed to serve as chairman of the Department of Environmental Engineering.

Regents also were briefed on a new administrative policy being implemented at New Mexico Tech regarding the management of work visas for campus employers in need of petitioning to hire eligible foreign national employees. Under newly established guidelines at Tech, each respective university division or department in need of petitioning the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) will be solely responsible for the costs incurred.