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Flood Watch issued for parts of the Borderland Monday, including Las Cruces. Any storm that forms may produce heavy rainfall.
by Stephanie Muniz
TOPICS:
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — As students return to school, New Mexico's efforts to make higher education more accessible are showing promising results.
The state's Opportunity Scholarship, established in 2022, is designed to provide free college education to New Mexico residents, encouraging those who never attended or did not complete college to pursue higher education.
Stephanie Rodriguez, Cabinet Secretary for New Mexico Higher Education, highlighted the state's pioneering role in tuition-free education.
"The lottery scholarship was actually established in 1996 and it was actually the nation's first tuition-free college free program," she said. "A lot of people don’t know that, but we were the first in the nation to offer tuition-free college to recent high school graduates."
Rodriguez noted that the average age of a college student in New Mexico is now 26 years old, reflecting a shift in the demographic of college attendees.

The Opportunity Scholarship aims to accommodate this change by offering part-time and full-time options for high-demand certificates, associate, and bachelor's degrees. "All you have to do to qualify for the NM Opportunity scholarship is be a full-time New Mexico resident," Rodriguez said.
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Since the scholarship's inception, college enrollment in New Mexico has increased by an average of 2-4% annually.
"More New Mexico high school seniors are making the decision to stay home because it is free," Rodriguez said. "Their parents don’t have to pay for it, they don’t have to pay for it. They don’t have to figure out loans. It’s easy, they can just go to school right here in New Mexico."
The Texas neighbors have their own contributions to education. A portion of lottery ticket sales has contributed nearly $31.2 billion to the Foundation School Fund since 1997, which is a fund that helps support public schools.
When it comes to higher education, the Texas lottery helps support veterans with grants through the Texas Veterans Commission Fund.
In New Mexico, the Opportunity Scholarship is also helping people complete technical education.
According to NMHED, the scholarship has helped New Mexican's with completion rates rising by 30%.
"We need to do more for our certificate programs because yes we want people to get an associate and bachelor's degree but in my backyard in rural New Mexico, I need welders, pipe fitters, electricians," Rodriguez said.
In addition to undergraduate education, New Mexico has expanded its efforts to graduate studies.
Dr. Ranjit Koodali, Dean of the Graduate School at New Mexico State University, explained that part-time students can now qualify for graduate scholarships. "Now we have expanded the opportunity to students not only in Las Cruces but also potentially anywhere in New Mexico and that is exciting because ultimately the goal for us is to provide cost-effective, high-quality, accessible graduate education," Koodali said.
The Opportunity Scholarship has resulted in approximately 90% of recipients graduating from their programs.
Last academic year, New Mexico higher education institutions awarded degrees or certifications to more than 29,000 students statewide.
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