45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2002

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE AND THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION TO REVIEW THE COMPENSATION SYSTEM AND HIRING PRACTICES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION EMPLOYEES TO DISCERN WHETHER THERE IS A NEED FOR LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT.

WHEREAS, it is recognized nationally that public institutions of higher education in the United States are undergoing great changes to better prepare a literate and skilled citizenry that is capable of competing successfully in the economic and political arenas of a global community and that can sustain our democratic American society through full participation in community and civic life; and

WHEREAS, in 2001, the commission on higher education recognized that higher education faculty and staff salaries at peer institutions in other states were rising faster than those in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, the university of New Mexico and New Mexico state university are two public institutions of higher education where faculty and staff salaries have failed to keep pace with peer institutions since 1997; and

WHEREAS, investment in faculty and staff salaries would benefit New Mexico's economic development because competitive pay attracts quality faculty and staff that, in turn, attract large sums of research money; and

WHEREAS, low faculty and staff salaries are contributing to low morale and high faculty and staff turnover, impacting the quality of higher education in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico's institutions of higher education, specifically the university of New Mexico, eastern New Mexico university and New Mexico state university, distribute salary increases provided by the legislature according to dubious merit pay plans instead of as across-the-board competitive pay raises, a practice that also contributes to low morale and high employee turnover and negatively impacts the delivery of quality higher education; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico's institutions of higher education are converting full-time faculty and staff vacancies to part-time positions at an alarming rate, another practice that contributes to low morale and high employee turnover and negatively impacts the delivery of quality higher education;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative education study committee and the commission on higher education be requested to review the compensation system and hiring practices for higher education employees to discern whether there is a need for legislative oversight; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education study committee and the commission on higher education be requested to review the effectiveness of merit pay versus across-the-board salary raises as a means of competing with peer institutions for quality higher education employees; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education study committee and the commission on higher education be requested to review the impact of converting full-time vacancies to part-time positions on the quality of higher education in New Mexico; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education study committee and the commission on higher education be requested to review the need for legislative oversight of New Mexico's institutions of higher education and to provide recommendations to the full legislature prior to the beginning of the first session of the forty-sixth legislative session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the chair of the legislative education study committee and the executive director of the commission on higher education.