SENATE BILL 68
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Harold Pope
AN ACT
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; AMENDING THE GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP ACT; UPDATING DEFINITIONS; CHANGING CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY AND CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY; REMOVING THE REQUIREMENT THAT A RECIPIENT BE A UNITED STATES CITIZEN OR HAVE A PERMANENT RESIDENT VISA; LOWERING THE ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE THAT A RECIPIENT BE ENROLLED IN AT LEAST SIX CREDIT HOURS; INCLUDING A REQUIREMENT THAT A RECIPIENT HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE AND MAINTAIN A GRADE POINT AVERAGE OF 3.0 OR HIGHER OR HOLD A PAID POSITION SUPPORTING FACULTY; INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF AN AWARD IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF TUITION AND FEES FOR AN ACADEMIC YEAR; MAKING CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
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
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]; and
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; 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] scholarship program."
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; and
[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.
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."
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