As Northern New Mexico College prepares to build high the towers of the residence, the College is also expanding its recruitment reach outward, across state and international borders.
“We’re spreading the good news about Northern,” Regent Alfred Herrera said.
The Northern New Mexico College Board of Regents held a special meeting Oct. 4 to review and approve the agreement for preliminary development assessment with development company Monument, LLC. During this meeting, Board President Michael Branch and Herrera mentioned a conversation with the Mexican Consulate, Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de León, at the Third Biennial Policy Summit on Latino Higher Education.
“We need to look at the possibilities that overflow (of students) could be extended to other countries,” Branch said during the meeting.
During one of the break-out sessions, Herrera and Ponce de León visited, and Herrera invited him to the Northern New Mexico College Foundation benefit dinner this month.
“It’s the standard pitch to dignitaries like him,” Herrera said. “It’s the friendly and business savvy thing to do.” Whether the consulate will attend, Herrera does not know. Herrera said invitations like the one made to Ponce de León are made in part to strengthen Northern’s network and in part to recruit more students.
By inviting Mexican students to Northern, enrollment will increase, Herrera said. When enrollment increases, the College and the community both benefit, he said.
“We’re being responsive to the needs of the community,” Herrera said. “It’s like a circular motion. If we get more students with the new residence hall — which we will — from other parts of the country or the world, it helps our student enrollment overall.”
He said Northern becomes a viable alternative to other universities. As it is now, enrollment is declining, and with declining enrollment, the college has less opportunities to offer students, Herrera said.
Presently, Northern has 13 international students, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Ricky Serna said. With the availability of on-campus housing, the recruitment opportunities for Northern will grow outside the current 40-mile radius, Herrera said.
Serna said international recruitment is a “tier two” plan. Northern does not have the financial resources to take many trips outside of the state for recruitment, let alone going outside the country, Serna said.
Right now, Frank Orona, Northern’s director of admission, processes the international student’s paperwork and keeps track of their visas, Serna said. If the number of international students increased too quickly, Northern would not have the capability to process the influx of paperwork, Serna said.
Northern Athletic Director Ryan Cordova said at the Oct. 4 meeting, the state was creating a consortium. Cordova said the larger universities and colleges have the money for international recruitment, while the smaller colleges do not. Cordova said the consortium will actively recruit international students on behalf of all universities in the state, as opposed to individual institutions.
“We know that we have a tremendous need in the surrounding community for recruiting, but it’s far away for (potential students) to commute on a daily basis,” Serna said.
Serna said with the addition of the residence hall, Northern will concentrate on recruiting from within the community, Northern New Mexico, southern Colorado and eastern Arizona.
Located in the parameters Serna defined is an often overlooked group — children of seasonal farm workers. In 2011, Northern received a five-year grant from the Office of Migrant Education to launch the College Assistance Migrant Program.
The program serves first-year students who are the children of migrant or seasonal farmworkers. Martha Estrada, director of the program, said the majority of the students are natives of Española Valley. Estrada said there are current students enrolled in the program who benefit from campus housing.
Estrada said it was her hope student enrollment in the program, which is capped at 35 students, would increase with the option of campus housing.
Estrada said part of the grant can be used for housing assistance. Right now, Estrada finds the students temporary housing in nearby houses or apartments, she said.