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UNM Gallup describes new student resource center and veteran outreach; reports 1,769 headcount and 20 certified veteran students
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Summary
UNM Gallup told the Military & Veterans Affairs Committee it reorganized its Accessibility Resource Center into a broader Student Resource Center to reduce stigma and expand supports for veteran and military‑connected students. The campus reported a Gallup headcount of 1,769 and said it certified roughly 20–30 students per semester for VA benefits.
UNM Gallup officials told the Military & Veterans Affairs Committee that they have broadened the campus Accessibility Resource Center into a Student Resource Center to better serve veteran and military‑connected students and to address basic needs such as food insecurity and mental‑health access.
"I am Dr. Sabrina Ezell, UNM Gallup Chancellor," Ezell said, noting the campus’s effort to remove stigmas around help‑seeking and to connect students to services. Shana Arviso, the campus VA school certifying official, provided enrollment and benefits data: "So currently for the fall 25 semester, we have certified, 20 students, 8 receiving chapter 35... and 11 chapter 33 post 9 11, and 1 chapter 31," Arviso said.
Why it matters: University resource centers are often veterans’ principal on‑campus points of contact. The campus’s reorganization aims both to consolidate academic accommodations and to add wraparound supports—help with benefits paperwork, connections to the VA and campus counseling, and events to build community among veteran students.
Committee members pressed for additional data. UNM Gallup said its Gallup‑specific unduplicated headcount is 1,769 and that the campus currently certifies between 20 and 30 in‑person/resident students per semester; it also noted an unknown but smaller percentage of students are actually using VA benefits system‑wide. The campus said it is seeing a larger share of dependents using Post‑9/11 GI Bill benefits than active veterans and is working on improved tracking to identify veterans who aren’t currently utilizing benefits.
UNM Gallup described ongoing outreach and collaborative work with UNM Albuquerque’s Veterans and Military Resource Center, Veterans Upward Bound, academic advisors, and financial aid offices to streamline VA certification, tuition/fee amendments, and student referrals to mental‑health and basic‑needs resources. The campus also said it employs veteran work‑study students and plans a Veterans Day event.
What's next: UNM Gallup's presenters offered to follow up with committee requests for regional housing stipend (BAH) amounts and additional breakdowns of online versus resident veteran students. Committee members recommended improving tracking of veterans and military‑connected students to inform future legislative support and outreach.
