The Opportunity Scholarship Program will be a “last payer” scholarship. NM students already receive substantial education funding through the NM Lottery Scholarship Program which pays 65%-85% of tuition (depends upon the the type of college and the specific program a student enrolls in) to colleges and community colleges for every NM HS grad enrolled after the student has completed 1 semester of college.
To qualify for the Lottery Scholarship program, one must graduate from HS with 2.5 GPA, immediately enroll in college/community college (no gap years allowed except for religious mission work or military service) and earn a 2.5 GPA in 15 credits of non-remedial coursework during their first semester of college. Starting college OOS will also disqualify one for the Lottery.
What the Opportunity Scholarship program will do is pay for that first semester of college/community college (which many students have identified as a barrier to college enrollment in statewide surveys) and provide additional funding to cover the remaining 15-35% of the tuition during the last 3 or 7 semesters, as well as any fees charged by the college program.
So the whole “free college for everyone” is bit misleading.
College will be tuition-free if you:
- graduate from a NM high school with 2.5 GPA
- immediately enroll in a NM college or skilled trades program at a NM CC
- take at least 15 credits (12 credits if at a CC) of non-remedial coursework every semester
- maintain a 2.5 GPA
I think that’s fair deal.