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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR HEC

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/7/08

HB 638/HECS

SHORT TITLE Veterinary Education

SB

ANALYST Cox

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$125.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico State University (NMSU) (verbal)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Education Committee Substitute for House Bill 638 appropriates one hundred twenty five

thousand dollars ($125,000) from the General Fund to the Higher Education Department for the

purpose of supporting veterinary education through the Western Interstate Commission for

Higher Education (WICHE).

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of one hundred twenty five thousand dollars ($125,000) contained in this Bill

is a recurring expense to the General Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance

remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2009 shall revert to the General Fund.

The cost of New Mexico’s participation the WICHE ‘loan for service’ program has increased

3.4% in FY 2009 among the individual field of study support fees.

HB 2 presently funds the WICHE Veterinary Medicine reciprocal program with $1,115,200.

This additional $125,000 funding will increase the number of “slots’ or students in the Western

Interstate Commission for Higher Education veterinary education, according to NMSU.

House Bill 638/HECS – Page

2

According to NMSU President, there are ‘a significant number of potential veterinary students."

As well, the main reciprocal veterinary program is with Colorado State University. A

contemplated addition in ‘veterinary school reciprocity’ would be Kansas State University.

The present ‘student slot formula’ is $1,115,200 for 41 ‘slots’. This represents a dollar cost of

twenty $27,200 per ‘student slot’. ($1,115,200 / 41). An additional $125,000 in funding might

produce an additional 4.6 ‘student slots’, using present assumptions.

LFC recommendation for FY 2009 was $2,153,900. HED budget request for FY 2009 was

$2,047,400. Thus LFC recommended an additional amount of $206,500 before the above-

mentioned request. The LFC recommendation increase represents a 10% growth.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

WICHE is a reciprocal higher education program in the Western States.

Residents of WICHE states can gain affordable access to programs, States avoid costly and

unnecessary duplication of programs and facilities, and colleges and universities can devote their

resources to improving the quality of their educational offerings

Through WICHE’s program, Western Regional Graduate Programs, residents of Alaska,

Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon,

South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are eligible to enroll in available programs

outside of their home state at resident tuition rates.

WICHE's student exchange programs offer a broad range of higher education options, including

veterinary education

, for more than 23,000 interstate students each year at undergraduate,

graduate, and professional levels.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Will resident New Mexico veterinary graduates be required to practice in New Mexico, if they

have participated in this WICHE program. (This is sometimes the case with Medical school

graduates.)

PRC/nt