UNM-LA Advisory Board Recommends No Tuition Increase, Expanded Mechanical Engineering Program To Be Offered

Dana-AaliyahSandovalUNM-LA student Aaliyah Sandoval, right, was introduced to the board members as a recipient of a recent N3B scholarship. Her mother, Dana, left, also attended the meeting. Photo by Nancy Coombs/UNM-LA

AllanVanCleave

UNM-LA student Allan VanCleave attended the Advisory Board Meeting and was recognized as one of two UNM-LA students who were honored as Phi Theta Kappa Scholars at the New Mexico Legislative session. Photo by Nancy Coombs/UNM-LA

Nan-SauerLANL Senior Director, Partnerships and Pipeline Office, Nan Sauer talked to the UNM-LA Advisory Board about a collaboration bringing a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree program to UNM-LA. Photo by Nancy Coombs/UNM-LA

Burrows-Sutton-BoerigterUNM-LA AdvisoryBoard members, from left, Laura Burrows, David Sutton and Steve Boerigter review the material during the meeting. Photo by Nancy Coombs/UNM-LA

UNM-LA NEWS

At the UNM-Los Alamos (UNM-LA) Advisory Board meeting on Monday, Mar. 2, in addition to the board’s recommendation on tuition and fees, advisory board members had the opportunity to hear from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Senior Director, Partnerships and Pipeline Office, Nan Sauer.

Sauer talked to the Board about collaborations between LANL and UNM-LA regarding programs to help support local workforce needs.

Last fall, LANL, UNM School of Engineering and UNM-LA collaborated to develop a pathway for students to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering on the UNM-LA campus, which will provide an opportunity for LANL employees, UNM-LA students and others to continue their education locally. Sauer mentioned that more than 125 LANL employees expressed an interest in the program.

Students would complete the Associate’s Degree in Pre-Engineering at UNM-LA. The UNM School of Engineering plans to start offering upper division classes on the UNM-LA campus in Fall 2020. Students who are interested in the Mechanical Engineering program should contact Irina Alvestad at 505-661-4696 or by email at irina@unm.edu.

The Board recommended no increase in tuition and fees for 2020-21, following the proposal by the UNM-LA Executive Team. The recommendation was based on expectations of revenues and expenditures for next year. For further information about the UNM-LA Advisory Board, visit 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. More information about UNM-LA is available at losalamos.unm.edu.