Education

There was a real feeling of emotion, optimism and hope in the air.

Soon-to-be holders of doctorate degrees, master degrees, bachelors degrees, associate degrees and general education development diplomas from UNM-LA met up with each other at the Crossroads Bible Church for their graduation ceremony Wednesday evening.

They were congratulating each other like old friends on their academic accomplishments before the ceremony began.

Within two hours, UNM-LA’s 32nd annual graduation ceremony would be over and 78 degree holders would be going off into the world to either build on what they’ve accomplished by enrolling in another degree program or finding a job.

Dr. Cedric Page, UNM-LA’s executive director, started the ceremony off by welcoming the graduates, their family and friends to the occasion as well as the event’s special guests, faculty and speakers, including convocation speaker Kathy Keith.

Keith, whose professional specialty is economic development, is the executive director of the Regional Development Corporation, a non-profit organization that promotes jobs in Northern New Mexico. It also partners with UNM-LA to help students find jobs through the organization’s “Accelerate” Program.

Los Alamos High School made a significant leap in a national poll recently when it was revealed the school went up more than 80 spots in U.S. News and World Report’s ‘Best High Schools’ rankings list.

In 2012, the school was ranked 638. In this year’s poll, the school is at 556, advancing 82 places since last year’s poll.

The poll, with help from the American Institutes for Research, analyzed three main factors in 21,035 U.S. high schools.

The first factor examined whether the school’s students were performing better in reading and math than average for students in their state.

Then they factored in the school’s percentage of “economically-disadvantaged” students, and whether or not they were performing at a better-than-average rate.

For schools that passed those two tests, the schools were then judged on how many “advanced placement” (college level) courses it provides, the variety of courses, how many students in the school are signing up for them and how many are getting a passing grade.

It’s this factor that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gene Schmidt said was a determining factor in the school’s advancement in the rankings this year.

ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP) — Students at Northern New Mexico College are set to see their tuition go up 14 percent.

The Board of Regents on Monday adopted last minute changes to the school's budget that included the hike, but set aside plans to increase faculty salaries. The increase means tuition will stand at nearly $1,400 for a student taking 12 credits. Students also can expect about a $35 increase in fees.

The Albuquerque Journal reports board president Michael Branch said he couldn't justify the salary increase in light of the tuition hike.

The board also opted to keep a daycare center and a community kitchen, which were on the chopping block as cost-cutting measures. The panel did approve 2.5 percent budget cuts across all departments as it deals with cash reserves that one school executive described as "dangerously low."

Northern New Mexico College President Nancy “Rusty” Barceló has accomplished an amazing amount in a little less than three years. But her vision for the college expands far beyond her accomplishments so far.

Barceló quickly led NNMC to fiscal recovery, completing four audits in a 10-month period while she began an academic restructuring of the institution. She added four new colleges to the existing College of Education: Professional Studies, Arts and Sciences, Nursing and Health Sciences and Community, Workforce, and Career Technical Education.

Los Alamos National Laboratory provided substantial funding toward the development of an accredited baccalaureate degree program in nursing. The engineering department is currently working on accreditation.

Many of Barceló’s plans involve outreach to communities such as Los Alamos. Given how many people from Española work in Los Alamos, Barceló sees a natural connection between the two communities.

“There is this corridor, so to speak, where I think it’s in the best interest of our own community that we develop these important partnerships,” Barceló said.