TITLE 5 POST-SECONDARY
EDUCATION
CHAPTER 7 TUITION
AND FINANCIAL AID
PART 20 LEGISLATIVE
LOTTERY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
5.7.20.1 ISSUING AGENCY: State of New Mexico Higher Education
Department.
[5.7.20.1 NMAC - Rp,
5.7.20.1 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.2 SCOPE: Provisions of 5.7.20 NMAC apply to all state
public post-secondary institutions and tribal colleges in the state of New
Mexico.
[5.7.20.2 NMAC -
Rp, 5.7.20.2 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Sections 6-24-1 et seq. NMSA 1978 and Sections 21-21N-1 et seq. NMSA
1978.
[5.7.20.3 NMAC - Rp, 5.7.20.3 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[5.7.20.4 NMAC - Rp,
5.7.20.4 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: June 25, 2024, unless a
later date is cited at the end of a section.
[5.7.20.5 NMAC - Rp,
5.7.20.5 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.6 OBJECTIVE:
A. The objective of
5.7.20 NMAC is to provide a level of financial support to qualified New Mexico
students who are enrolled full-time at an eligible New Mexico public
post-secondary educational institution or tribal college. This level of financial support is intended
to help defray the cost of tuition at the public post-secondary educational
institution or tribal college where the student is enrolled.
B. A further
purpose of 5.7.20 NMAC is to encourage New Mexico high school students who
pursue a post-secondary education in New Mexico to complete a first four-year
degree within a maximum of eight semesters or two-year degree within a maximum
of four semesters (the number of semesters is so determined as the initial
award is not made until the second semester of college enrollment and shall not
include summer semesters; provided that in no case shall the award fund more
than three summer semesters).
C. As it applies to
students with disabilities who may require special accommodations, the
department, in consultation with the student and the office at the public
post-secondary educational institution that serves students with disabilities,
shall review both the definition of “full-time” and the maximum number of
consecutive semesters of eligibility and adjust either or both as deemed
reasonable and appropriate, based on the student's disability needs. In no case shall “full-time” mean fewer than
six credit hours per semester during the fall and spring semesters or three
credit hours per summer semester, if attending, and in no case shall
eligibility extend beyond 14 consecutive program semesters at a four-year
institution and seven consecutive program semesters at a two-year
institution. If a New Mexico resident
had to leave the state to receive an education pursuant to the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act the student shall be eligible for
the scholarship if they graduated from an accredited high school in another
state and otherwise met the qualifications for a legislative lottery
scholarship pursuant to the definition of a qualified student in Subsection N
of 5.7.20.7 NMAC.
[5.7.20.6 NMAC - Rp, 5.7.20.6 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.7 DEFINITIONS
A. “Academic year” means a consecutive
period of three semesters to include fall, spring and summer.
B. “Accelerated program” means one in
which a summer semester is a program requirement and not a student choice; a
cohort that requires sequence of courses taken in summer semester.
C. “Community college” means a branch
community college of a four-year state educational institution, a two-year
state educational institution or a community college or technical and
vocational institute established pursuant to Chapter 21, Article 13 or 16 NMSA
1978, respectively.
D. “Comprehensive
institution” means eastern New Mexico university, New Mexico highlands university,
northern New Mexico college or western New Mexico university.
E. “Consortium” means a written agreement
between a home institution and one or more host institutions for consideration
of combined enrollment for eligibility:
(1) home
institution is the institution where the student is enrolled in a degree or
certificate seeking program and is receiving lottery scholarship funds;
(2) host
institution is the secondary institution where the student is taking part of
their program requirements.
F. “Department” means the New Mexico
higher education department (NMHED).
G. “Full-time” means 30 credit hours successfully
completed each regular academic year at a research institution, comprehensive
institution or tribal institution or 24 successfully credit hours completed per
academic year at a community college. For students enrolled through a
consortium agreement the minimum credit hour eligibility requirement shall be
based on the student’s home institution.
H. “GPA” means grade point average.
I. “Legislative lottery scholarship” means
a scholarship that provides tuition assistance per semester for qualified
students awarded from the proceeds of the New Mexico lottery tuition fund to
defray all or part of the cost of tuition.
J. “Non-enrollment” means a student is not
enrolled in a public post-secondary educational institution.
K. “Probation” means a
period of time that a student fails to meet continuing eligibility for
exceptional mitigating circumstances as determined by the lead financial aid
officer at the institution; as described in Subsection D of 5.7.20.8 NMAC.
L. “Program semesters” means those
semesters for which a qualified student may receive a legislative lottery
scholarship, which includes the summer semester and excludes the first semester
of full-time attendance at a public post-secondary educational institution or
tribal college; provided that the first semester cannot be the summer semester.
M. “Public post-secondary educational
institution”
means a four-year state educational institution or a community college.
N. “Qualified student” means a full-time
student who graduated from a public or accredited private New Mexico high
school or completed the requirements of a home-based or nonpublic secondary educational
program in New Mexico or received a high school equivalency credential
recognized by the state of New Mexico while maintaining residency in New Mexico
and who either:
(1) within
16 months of graduation or completion of a secondary educational program
specified in this subsection, was accepted for entrance to and subsequently
enrolled full-time at a public post-secondary educational institution or tribal
college without having previously enrolled at a non-qualifying public post-secondary
institution or tribal college; or
(2) within
four months of graduation or completion of a secondary educational program
specified in this subsection, began service in the United States armed forces
and within 16 months of completion of honorable service or medical discharge
from the service, subsequently enrolled full-time at a public post-secondary
educational institution or tribal college without having previously enrolled at
a non-qualifying public post-secondary institution or tribal college; and
(3) successfully
completed the qualifying semester at a public post-secondary educational
institution or tribal college with a GPA of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale during
the first semester of and completes twelve or more credit hours.
O. “Research institution” means New Mexico
institute of mining and technology, New Mexico state university and the
university of New Mexico.
P. “State educational
institution” means an institution of higher education enumerated in Article
12, Section 11 of the Constitution of New Mexico.
Q. “Summer semester” means a semester
equal to fall or spring semester in duration or intensity.
R. “Tribal college” means a tribally,
federally or congressionally chartered post-secondary educational institution
with a physical campus in New Mexico that is accredited by the higher learning
commission.
[5.7.20.7 NMAC - Rp, 5.7.20.7 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.8 INITIAL ELIGIBILITY:
A. A scholarship
may be awarded to a student in their second semester who has met first semester
eligibility requirements as follows:
(1) has
established and maintained New Mexico residency as defined in 5.7.18.9 NMAC or
is eligible for a nondiscrimination waiver as defined in Subsection K of
5.7.18.10 NMAC. All residency
requirements must be met upon completion of high school, graduation, or receipt
of a high school equivalency credential recognized by the State of New Mexico;
(2) has
been determined to be a qualified student pursuant to Subsection N of 5.7.20.7
NMAC;
(3) has
enrolled in no fewer than twelve credit hours in the fall and spring semesters
and between three and nine credit hours for summer semesters; provided that the
student is not required to attend summer semesters to maintain eligibility
unless required as part of an accelerated program; and further provided that
during a summer semester the student may enroll in more than nine credit hours
but the legislative lottery scholarship shall be capped at the tuition charged
for nine credit hours; and
(4) has
met requirements in Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection A of 5.7.20.8 NMAC
or students with exceptional mitigating circumstances as determined by the
institution’s lead financial aid officer; students who are incapable of meeting
the requirements specified in Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection A of
5.7.20.8 NMAC due to a documented exceptional mitigating circumstance do not
forfeit eligibility for the legislative lottery scholarship; however, the
following requirements shall apply:
(a) the
student shall provide documents certifying the nature of the students
exceptional mitigating circumstance to the institution’s lead financial aid
officer at the post-secondary educational institution at which the student is
enrolling or will enroll; the institution’s lead financial aid officer shall
exercise professional judgment to determine whether the exceptional mitigating
circumstance is beyond the student's control and precludes the student from
meeting the requirements specified in Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection
A of 5.7.20.8 NMAC; and
(b) if,
in the professional judgment of the institution’s lead financial aid officer,
the student's exceptional mitigating circumstance is recognized as a valid
reason for the student's inability to meet the requirements specified in
Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection A of 5.7.20.8 NMAC the student's
initial eligibility for the legislative lottery scholarship shall be suspended
or deferred unless and until such time that the student is capable of meeting
the requirements of Paragraph (4) of Subsection A of 5.7.20.8 NMAC.
B. Other provisions
regarding initial eligibility.
(1) Students with disabilities or their
legal guardian shall obtain a referral from the student services division of
the post-secondary educational institution where the student is enrolled that
oversees students with special needs requests to change the credit hours to be
considered full-time for scholarship eligibility; referrals and any sufficient
documentation shall be received no later than 30 days after the student’s
enrollment start date for their first semester.
(2) Students
are encouraged, but are not required, to complete a free application for
student aid (FAFSA) for lottery scholarship eligibility.
(3) During
the 16 months after graduation from a public or accredited private New Mexico
high school or completion of the requirements of a home-based or nonpublic
secondary educational program in New Mexico or receipt a high school
equivalency credential recognized by the state of New Mexico a student may
attend a public post-secondary educational institution or tribal college prior
to their qualifying semester less than full-time without affecting future
program eligibility. Once a student is enrolled and attends a public
post-secondary educational institution or tribal college full-time during the
16 months after graduation from a public or accredited private New Mexico high
school or completion of the requirements of a home-based or nonpublic secondary
educational program in New Mexico or receipt a high school equivalency
credential recognized by the state of New Mexico the student shall be
considered to have commenced the qualifying semester and must meet the
qualifying semester eligibility requirements within Subsection N of 5.7.20.7
NMAC.
[5.7.20.8 NMAC -Rp, 5.7.20.8 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.9 CONTINUING
ELIGIBILITY:
Upon satisfaction of the qualifying semester eligibility requirements, the scholarship
will be awarded to the student beginning with their second semester of
enrollment. A student’s continuing eligibility shall be determined on a
semester basis. A legislative lottery scholarship award may be re-awarded to a
student who:
A. maintains a
minimum of a 2.5 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale; provided that a student may request
use of the student’s cumulative GPA earned at all New Mexico public
post-secondary educational institutions and tribal colleges;
B. successfully completes thirty credit
hours within the academic year if attending a four-year public post-secondary
educational institution or a tribal college. The credit hours may be
apportioned among fall, spring and summer semesters, with no fewer than twelve
credit hours in the fall and spring semesters and between three and nine credit
hours for summer semesters; provided that a student is not required to
attend summer semesters to maintain eligibility unless required as part of an
accelerated program; and further provided that the student satisfies the credit
hour requirement for the academic year; and further provided that credit-hour
limits do not apply to the last semester before graduation; or
C. successfully completes twenty-four
credit hours within the academic year if attending a two-year public
post-secondary educational institution. The credit hours may be apportioned
among fall, spring and summer semesters, with no fewer than nine credit hours
in the fall and spring semesters and between three and nine credit hours for
summer semesters; provided that:
(1) a student is not required to attend
summer semesters to maintain eligibility unless required as part of an
accelerated program; provided that the student satisfies the credit hour
requirement for the academic year; and further provided that credit-hour limits
do not apply to the last semester before graduation; and
(2) upon transferring from a two-year
public post-secondary educational institution to a four-year public
post-secondary educational institution or a tribal college at the start of a
fall of spring semester the student has started a new academic year. The
following conditions apply for students transferring the scholarship:
(a) a transfer transcript is required for
continuation.
(b) student
transfers shall defer to the receiving institution to determine continued
eligibility; and
(c) an eligible student that transfers
shall continue to be eligible at the receiving institution after receipt of the
student’s transfer transcript containing eligibility confirmation; and
D. continues to meet the requirements
for students with disabilities if requesting a reduction in the credit hours to
be considered full-time by obtaining a referral from the student services
division of the student’s post-secondary educational institution where the
student is enrolled; provided that referrals and
sufficient documentation shall be received no later than 30 days after the
student’s enrollment start date for the semester.
[5.7.20.9 NMAC – N, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.10 PROBATION:
Students
who have been determined eligible and subsequently have exceptional mitigating
circumstances as determined by the institution’s lead financial aid officer may
be placed on a probationary status under the following conditions:
A. the student shall provide documents certifying the nature
of their exceptional mitigating circumstance to the lead financial aid officer
at the post-secondary institution at which the student is enrolling or will
enroll;
B. the lead financial aid officer shall exercise
professional judgment to determine whether the exceptional mitigating
circumstance is beyond the student's control and precludes the student from
meeting the requirements specified in Paragraph (4) of Subsection A of 5.7.20.8
NMAC; and
C. a student may receive scholarship funding while on
probationary status, however under no circumstances shall the student receive
program awards in excess of those prescribed in
Subsections A and B of 5.7.20.11 NMAC.
[5.7.20.10 NMAC –
Rp, 5.7.20.11 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.11 DURATION OF SCHOLARSHIP:
A. Upon
qualification, the student’s initial scholarship shall begin with the second
semester of enrollment at a public post-secondary educational institution or
tribal college. Thereafter, each
scholarship is for a period of one semester subject to revocation for failure
to maintain eligibility. The scholarship
may be renewed on a semester basis until the award recipient has received the legislative
lottery scholarship for a maximum of seven fall and spring program semesters
and a maximum of three summer semesters, or no more than three and one-half
years for a bachelor's degree.
B. An award
recipient may use the award at an eligible two-year public post-secondary
educational institution until the student receives a maximum of three fall and
spring program semesters of scholarship awards or an associate’s degree and can
continue to use the award at an eligible New Mexico four-year public
post-secondary educational institution or tribal college if the student
transfers to a four-year public post-secondary educational institution or
tribal college without a break in attendance or the semester following receipt
of the associate’s degree. In no case
shall a student receive more than seven program semesters of the award with the exception of students with disabilities.
C. A student may
transfer from a four-year public post-secondary educational institution or
tribal college to a two-year public post-secondary educational institution, but
in no case shall a student receive more than three program semesters of awards
at the two-year institution (including those awarded at the prior public
post-secondary educational institution or tribal college) or until the student
graduates with an associate degree, whichever is sooner.
D. For students
with disabilities in no case shall eligibility extend beyond 14 consecutive
program semesters at a four-year institution and seven consecutive program
semesters at a two-year institution. The maximum number of program semesters
shall include no more than three summer semester awards.
E. A student who
has been previously eligible may request a leave of absence for cooperative
education, military obligations, participation in a study abroad program
through the home institution or other exceptional mitigating circumstances.
F. The student’s
institutional lead financial aid officer may approve a leave of absence for a
period of up to one year if in the lead financial aid officer’s professional judgment the student has provided sufficient documentation
to justify the leave of absence.
Subsequent requests for an additional leave of absence by a student may
be considered by the institution’s lead financial aid officer in increments not
to exceed one year.
G. The lead
financial aid officer shall, in turn, ensure that the student does not receive
program awards in excess of those prescribed in
Subsections A and B of 5.7.20.11 NMAC and shall exclude the semesters of
“non-enrollment” from the determination of eligible award semesters.
H. If a student
becomes ineligible for a different state scholarship that is designated for one
hundred percent tuition, but satisfies the first
semester eligibility requirements and thereafter is eligible for the
legislative lottery scholarship, the student may begin receiving the
legislative lottery scholarship for the remaining number of semesters of
enrollment, not to exceed those prescribed in Subsections A and B of 5.7.20.11 NMAC.
[5.7.20.11 NMAC –
Rp, 5.7.20.9 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.12 AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP:
A. To the extent that
funds are made available from the fund, the board of regents or governing
bodies of public post-secondary educational institutions and tribal colleges
shall award legislative lottery scholarships in department-approved amounts to
qualified students.
B. In no case shall
a student receive a legislative lottery scholarship award exceeding the total
amount of tuition charged to the student by the institution for a maximum of 18
credit hours per fall or spring semester or nine credit hours for a summer
semester.
C. Qualified
students in their graduating semester shall receive a legislative lottery
scholarship proportional to the number of credit hours required to graduate.
D. If the fund does not cover full legislative
lottery scholarships, the method the department will use for calculating the legislative
lottery scholarship is as follows:
(1) estimate
the total amount available in the lottery tuition fund, based on past lottery
fund transfers, current year balances and additional funds made available
through legislation;
(2) estimate
the number of lottery scholarship recipients for each institution, based on
department endorsed institutional projections;
(3) calculate
the legislative lottery scholarship for each sector (research, comprehensive
and community college) and tribal college in accordance with Section 21-21N-4
NMSA 1978;
(4) calculate
the total amount needed to pay full tuition to all estimated recipients;
(5) compute
an award for each scholarship
recipient; and
(6) notify institutions.
[5.7.20.12 NMAC –
Rp, 5.7.20.10 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.13 ADMINISTRATION OF THE legislative lottery SCHOLARSHIP:
A. Eligible public
post-secondary educational institutions and tribal colleges shall:
(1) notify
students of their possible eligibility, during their first regular semester of
enrollment including transfer students who had the legislative lottery
scholarship at previous institutions;
(2) designate
their institution’s lead financial aid officer to be responsible for
determining initial and continuing student eligibility for the legislative
lottery scholarship under the terms of these rules and regulations;
(3) maintain
a listing of each participating student to include, but not be limited to:
(a) social
security number as appropriate;
(b) cumulative
GPA and completed enrollment hours in prior semesters;
(c) proof
of initial and continuing enrollment;
(d) award
semester; and
(e) other
data fields deemed important by the department;
(4) draw-down
files should be submitted to the department for eligible students as defined in
5.7.20.10 NMAC per semester; all fiscal year draw-downs shall be for eligible
students enrolled during the same fiscal year;
(5) for
students that satisfied the first semester eligibility requirements and seek
continuing eligibility consideration, use professional judgment to determine
that exceptional mitigating circumstances beyond the students control, for
which documentation exists in the student’s file; the institutions shall defer
to their institutional satisfactory academic progress policy when considering
circumstances which include, but are not limited to, consideration for falling
below the cumulative GPA requirement or successfully maintain full-time
enrollment as defined in Subsection G of 5.7.20.7 NMAC;
(6) provide
to the department by April 15 each year the projected enrollment and tuition
rates for the following academic year for their appropriate institution as
follows: comprehensive, research institution in their second through eighth
program semester including qualified students in their fifth through eighth
program semesters who transferred from a community college; projected
enrollment at each community college at each community college in their second
through fourth program semesters;
(7) publish
the probation policy as defined in 5.7.20.10
NMAC;
(8) encourage
consortium agreements, as defined in the code of federal regulations, 34 CFR
6685, in order to facilitate the enrollment of
students and to facilitate the student’s participation in this program;
(9) each
semester, ensure during the qualifying semester all available merit-based aid
packages, three percent scholarships, institutional award packages, and state
aid are awarded first before granting the New Mexico opportunity scholarship
for tuition. If the student does not qualify for any merit-based aid packages,
three percent scholarships, institutional award packages or state aid the
student may qualify to receive the New Mexico opportunity scholarship for
tuition and fees during the qualifying semester at the discretion of the lead
financial aid officer.
B. The department
shall:
(1) determine
the scholarship award pursuant to the provisions of 5.7.20.10 NMAC; all
eligible institutions will be notified prior to June 1 annually;
(2) conduct
audits to ascertain compliance with rules and regulations, if, during the audit
process, evidence indicates that a student should not have received a
legislative lottery scholarship, the department will provide guidance to the
institutions for appropriate action;
(3) make
available to the legislative finance committee and department of finance and
administration, by November 1, the following information:
(a) the
status of the fund;
(b) legislative
lottery scholarship program participation data aggregated for each public
postsecondary education institution and tribal college to show:
(i) the number of qualified students who
received legislative lottery scholarships and in the prior 12 month period;
(ii) the
total number of qualified students enrolled in the prior 12-month period;
(iii) the
amount of legislative lottery scholarships funded by semester and the amount of
tuition costs that were not offset by the legislative lottery scholarship by
semester; and
(iv) the
number of qualified students who graduated with a degree and, for each
qualified student, the number of consecutive semesters and nonconsecutive
semesters attended prior to graduation.
[5.7.20.13 NMAC –
Rp, 5.7.20.11 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
5.7.20.14 TERMINATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS: A scholarship is terminated upon noncompliance
by the award recipient with the legislative lottery scholarship rules,
regulations or procedures as promulgated by the department.
[5.7.20.14 NMAC –
Rp, 5.7.20.12 NMAC, 6/25/2024]
HISTORY OF 5.7.20 NMAC:
5.7.20 NMAC, Legislative Lottery Scholarship Program,
filed 8/14/2014 was repealed and replaced by 5.7.20 NMAC, Legislative Lottery Scholarship Program, effective 6/25/2024]
History of Repealed Material:
5.7.20 NMAC,
Legislative Lottery Scholarship Program, filed 8/1/2000, Repealed 6/25/2024.