SENATE BILL

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Harold Pope

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; AMENDING THE GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP ACT; CHANGING ELIGIBILITY; LIMITING ELIGIBLE FIELDS OF STUDY; INCREASING AWARDS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 21-21G-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 111, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

     "21-21G-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Graduate Scholarship Act:

          A. "academic year" means [any] the consecutive period of two semesters [three quarters] or other comparable units commencing with the fall term each year;

          B. "award recipient" means a New Mexico resident student awarded a graduate scholarship;

          C. "department" means the higher education department;

          D. "eligible institution" means [any] a graduate-degree-granting state university in New Mexico accredited by the [north central association of colleges and secondary schools] higher learning commission;

          E. "graduate [and professional] field" means [any] a program of study intended to result in a master's or doctoral degree, excluding [the degree in medicine] a doctor of medicine and nursing degrees other than a doctor of nursing practice; and

          F. "groups underrepresented in graduate education" means women, minorities, persons with a visual impairment or other physical disability and other groups [who] that have traditionally been underrepresented in the specific area of graduate study or profession for which the scholarship is awarded."

     SECTION 2. Section 21-21G-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 111, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

     "21-21G-5. CONDITIONS FOR FIRST-YEAR ELIGIBILITY.-- Priority [will] shall be given to [New Mexico students from those groups with the most severe underrepresentation and] students who are New Mexico residents with the greatest financial need and students from groups underrepresented in graduate education. A scholarship may be awarded to [an individual] a New Mexico resident who:

          A. [is a citizen of the United States or who has a permanent resident visa] has earned a bachelor's degree and maintained a grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale or who holds a paid position supporting faculty teaching or research activities;

          B. has met the admission requirements, [and] is accepted for enrollment [as a full-time student in an underrepresented] and enrolls in at least six credit hours in a graduate [or professional] field of study [as determined by the institution];

          C. has complied with all the rules [and regulations] adopted by the [commission] department for award of the scholarship and the provisions regarding the administration of [state] the graduate [scholarships adopted pursuant to the Graduate Scholarship Act] scholarship program; and

          [D. agrees to serve in an unpaid internship or assistantship at the eligible institution, a government agency or private industry approved by his major department for ten hours per week during the academic year]

          D. agrees to serve the eligible institution during the academic year in an internship or assistantship at the eligible institution, a government agency or a private industry approved by the student's academic department."

     SECTION 3. Section 21-21G-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 111, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:

     "21-21G-6. CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.--

          A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, a scholarship may be reawarded to a student who:

                [A.] (1) has been an award recipient of a New Mexico graduate scholarship the previous year;

                [B.] (2) maintains a grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale and remains in good academic standing as determined by the institution;

                [C.] (3) is enrolled [as a full-time graduate student as determined by the institution;

          D. is pursuing the second year of a master's degree or the second or third year of a doctoral degree; and

          E. agrees to serve in an unpaid internship or assistantship at the eligible institution, a government agency or private industry approved by his major department for ten hours per week during the academic year] in at least six credit hours in a graduate field of study; and

                (4) agrees to serve the eligible institution during the academic year in an internship or assistantship at the eligible institution, a government agency or a private industry approved by the student's academic department.

          B. A graduate scholarship may be granted until the award recipient either receives a terminal degree or has qualified and received eight semesters of scholarship, whichever occurs first."

     SECTION 4. Section 21-21G-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 111, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

     "21-21G-7. AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIPS.--Scholarship [awards shall be for seven thousand two hundred dollars ($7,200) per year to be disbursed in equal installments over the period of an academic year] award amounts shall not exceed one hundred percent of tuition and fees for the graduate program at the eligible institution for the academic year; provided that the department shall fund only one semester at a time and shall not fund the second semester of the academic year if the student does not enroll for that semester or does not maintain eligibility."

     SECTION 5. Section 21-21G-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 111, Section 10, as amended) is amended to read:

     "21-21G-10. TERMINATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS.--A scholarship is terminated upon the occurrence of:

          A. withdrawal from the eligible institution by the award recipient or failure to reenroll for consecutive academic years or [failure to be a full-time graduate student; or] the second semester of an academic year;

          B. failure to maintain the required grade point average and other qualifications for the scholarship; or

          [B.] C. substantial noncompliance by the award recipient with the Graduate Scholarship Act or the rules [regulations] or procedures promulgated by the [commission] department."

     SECTION 6. APPROPRIATION.--Five million dollars ($5,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the higher education department for expenditure in fiscal year 2025 to fund the Graduate Scholarship Act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2025 shall revert to the general fund.

     SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2024.

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