They're Talking On Campus.

. . .About drastic cuts in state support for higher education and sharp increases in tuition that have resulted in “the worst fiscal news for higher-education institutions and their students in at least a decade.”

State spending, says College Affordability in Jeopardy, a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, has increased an average of only 1 percent from the 2001-02 academic year because of the economic recession.

Appropriations dropped in 14 states, the report notes, while tuition has increased an average of 10 percent overall, with 16 states raising tuition by more than 10 percent. For more information, visit www.highereducation.org/.

. . .About Gov. Bill Richardson and the New Mexico legislature restoring collective bargaining to the state's public employees—including higher education faculty and staff. The new collective bargaining law, passed by the legislature and signed by the governor replaces a collective bargaining law that expired in 1998. The new law has no sunset provision.

NEA-New Mexico worked closely with Gov. Richardson, state legislators, educators across the state, and other groups to craft legislation that makes collective bargaining for all public employees permanent.

Changes under the new law include the creation of a state labor relations board, the use of binding arbitration in negotiating impasses, and an expanded scope of bargaining to allow educators to address some professional issues.