We must fight for living wages for our state’s higher education workers

Higher education in New Mexico is in state of crisis. Despite experiencing a boom in student enrollment, thanks to transformative opportunities like the Opportunity Scholarship, our growing student populations have fewer faculty to teach them because significant numbers of faculty are leaving higher education for better paying positions.

House Memorial 32 seeks to find a solution to this crisis, and requests the Higher Education Department, in collaboration with the Legislative Finance Committee and Legislative Education Study Committee, conduct a study on higher education compensation for both temporary and nontemporary faculty across all public colleges and universities in New Mexico. The study would include recommendations for improved compensation structures, as well as methods for achieving compensation increases. If passed, HM 32 would be a huge accomplishment in the fight for living wages for our state’s higher education workers.

This crisis is not unique to New Mexico. Nationwide, institutions of higher education have become overly reliant on temporary and adjunct instructors who receive low pay, meager benefits and poor job security. 40 years ago, 70 percent of academic employees were tenured or on the tenure track, but today those numbers have flipped with 86 percent of faculty holding positions that are not eligible for tenure.

In New Mexico, our institutions of higher education rely on non-tenure track and temporary faculty to deliver most entry level courses. This is especially true at our two-year institutions, where 67 percent of faculty are temporary, compared to 27 percent at our four-year institutions.

Many New Mexico higher education faculty are paid what equates to less than minimum wage. For example, our lowest paid temporary faculty are paid as little as $595 per credit hour, which translates to a full-time 9-month salary of $17,850.

As a result, many faculty across New Mexico are suffering from food and housing insecurity as documented by a 2023 survey by UNM’s Basic Needs Project, in collaboration with New Mexico’s Higher Education Department. The survey asked students, faculty and staff at 27 public institutions of higher education about their well-being. 23 percent percent of faculty and staff surveyed reported “very low food security.” In addition, 43 percent of faculty reported they were “housing insecure” within the last 12 months, and 15 percent reported they experienced homelessness within the last 12 months.

Many faculty must take on second and third jobs to make ends meet. Those who hold temporary positions, such as adjuncts, are also faced with the constant uncertainty of whether they will have a job after the semester ends. As a result, many experienced and talented faculty are leaving higher education for better paying jobs, including in our K-12 education system. Across New Mexico, our universities and colleges are suffering from short staffing and churning employee turnover. New Mexico college students ultimately bear the brunt of this dysfunction.

Not only do we need to ensure this study is conducted, we also need to insist our higher education institutions are given the tools and funding to act and are provided a pathway to do so. In 2005, HJM 73 compelled a similar study. What this 20-year-old study told us was not much different from what we know to be true today; yet, no plans were implemented to improve compensation and benefits for temporary faculty at that time.

Now 20 years later, we must act on the results of House Memorial 32 to stabilize our academic workforce to ensure student success. New Mexico higher education faculty and their students deserve no less, and our system of public higher education cannot wait another 20 years for action.