Zuni Enrollment Surges

For Release -- April 14, 2009

No one would argue that when the University of New Mexico-Gallup opened its campus in Zuni in 2002, things got off to a slow start. During those first years, college officials worried about how to put the $3.8 million, 36,000-square-foot facility to better use. But over the last year, the picture has changed for the better. The parking lot is full of cars, the classes are brimming with students, and as Fred Wey, the interim program manager says, “We’re running out of room here.”

Wey, who became a faculty member with the Gallup campus in 2006 and transferred to the Zuni campus in 2007, credits this turn of events to a new, improved relationship between the campus and the Pueblo of Zuni.  A licensed social worker with a Master’s of Social Work Degree with a clinical specialty, he arrived at UNM-Gallup after teaching social work, counseling and psychology at Western New Mexico University. Once at the Zuni campus, Wey began to concentrate on a new, improved relationship with the Pueblo by keeping conversation open with the Zuni Tribal Council, as well as the schools, businesses, and organizations that serve Zuni and the surrounding communities.

“We have needed to stabilize not only our image in the community, but stabilize the students and get them to stay here. The way we operate stimulates students to come back. With that in mind, I’ve become a strong advocate with the chairs [of the various academic departments at UNM-Gallup] for the courses we needed,” Wey said.

Slowly, the image seems to be changing. One by one, obstacles have been overcome, from getting reimbursement for UNMG instructors who drive from Gallup to teach classes through a Zuni dedicated travel budget, to finding local instructors with the proper credentials to teach, to transforming Zuni—through the services of administrative assistant Laura Leekela—into a one-stop shop for financial aid and advisement that is sensitive to the unique cultural needs of the community.  

Along the way, the recruiting and retention of students have advanced through the work of a revitalized student senate on campus and the outreach of the Construction Club. 

“Most of the credit, though, goes to our students who are rapidly spreading the word that ‘The time for the Zuni campus has come!’” Wey said.

These developments have helped mitigate the feeling among some in Zuni that the campus was “an afterthought,” as Wey put it. Although such terminology as the “twig”—meaning that Zuni campus was a “twig” off the UNM-Gallup branch -- was probably meant humorously rather than as a put-down, it began to rankle some locals, who also heard the campus referred to as the “stepchild” or “white elephant.”

“They felt that UNMG was never fully supportive,” Wey said.

Wey, who has applied for the permanent manager’s job at the Zuni campus, said another problem was the job has been vacant more than filled. The first two managers prior to Wey moved on after a short time at the post. Filling the position with someone who intends to stay on board should help improve the campus’s image in the community, Wey said.

As mentioned above, one of the most important ways of getting students onto the campus has been for Wey to advocate with the chairs for the courses that Zuni needs.

“If our motto is ‘Stay close, go far,’ shouldn’t that apply down here as well?” he said. “ZEE Transportation [the company that carries members of the Pueblo from Zuni to Gallup] doesn’t have a budget to make a run after 5 p.m.  Additionally, many of our students do not have the resources to make the Gallup-Zuni commute.”  

To remedy the challenge of providing more varied courses, an effort to recruit instructors from Gallup has been intensified. Currently, instructors from Gallup are teaching psychology, sociology, English 101 and 102, College Success and drawing. And now, the students are energized to seek more courses.

 “Our students now feel empowered enough to petition for courses they need.  If we receive enough signatures for a particular course, we will strongly advocate with the chairs in Gallup for the addition of this course,” Wey said.

For instance, students wanted Human Services Interviewing this semester but the paperwork wasn’t processed in time, and so they will try again next semester. The campus did petition for and was able to offer a course in First Aid. Physical Education classes are now in the works.

Popular courses that are currently taught by local instructors include Transitional Studies courses in math and English, Construction Tech (with plumbing, electrical and blueprint reading courses), Business Tech, Astronomy, Math 100, 120 and 121 and more.

“I’m petitioning the chairs to offer courses that are germane to what degrees people here are seeking,” Wey said.

The campus also has a renewed relation with Zuni High School, and offers many courses for either dual enrollment or for the Center for Career and Technical Education (vocational) track. Most of these courses are offered in the daytime, however, and as Wey points out, the Zuni campus, unlike Gallup, is mostly populated by those seeking weekend and evening classes.

“And that is one of the main things the Pueblo would like to see – more weekend, late afternoon and evening courses,” Wey said.

In the immediate future, Wey says he has plans to expand on dual enrollment with Ramah High School, which currently offers the College Success course.  Ramah already offers many CCTE offerings coordinated by Linda Burson, a long-time Zuni campus faculty member. Wey also is increasing outreach with the Ramah and Pine Hill communities.

With classrooms now steadily full to capacity, planning for more space is in discussion. The high school is currently lending classroom space, but that is seen as a temporary solution. Zuni students would also like to see upgraded computers, an expansion of the current building and even the building of a multi-use auditorium with projection equipment and a stage. The auditorium, Wey says, might be rented out to the local community – an idea that appeals to the Pueblo.

Wey said some discussion of housing for full-time faculty has been held, and that this might be achieved by partnerships with other entities in the area – perhaps with the school district, which already provides housing for its teachers.

As Wey acknowledged, many of the past concerns about the Zuni campus have had to do with whether or not it is cost effective.

“The fact is that a clear profit and loss statement for Zuni is extremely hard to determine under our current budgetary structure because Zuni doesn’t have its own dedicated budget. Current budgetary meetings in Gallup may resolve this problem beginning next fiscal year,” he said.

For now, though, Wey believes the Zuni campus is already helping to pay its way, claiming that by analyzing the current 2 percent UNM-Gallup increase in semester hour enrollment, 1.1 per cent of that increase—over half—may be due to the semester hour increases in Zuni.  “If you add the Ramah semester hour increases, that total rises to nearly 1.3 percent of the 2 percent reported total,” Wey said.

Regardless of the source of the increase, the administration at UNM-Gallup is pleased with the increase in traffic at the Zuni Campus, as are the citizens of Zuni. All are hopeful that perhaps now, the campus is at last on its way to enabling locals to “stay close and go far.”

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Please credit John Van’t Land with photography

Captions:

Steve Peretti instructs the Sociology 101 class.

Barbara Babcock, left, instructs the Drawing class at the Pueblo of Zuni. Students are Erickson Johnson, middle, and Sarah Gashytewa, right.

From left, Andrew Martinez and Derrick Zunie with Drawing instructor Babcock.

Monica Wyaco, administrative assistant, with Fred Wey, interim program director.