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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR McSorley

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/24/08

HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Law School College Mentoring

SB 337

ANALYST Haug

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$300.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Related to HB 228

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 337 appropriates $300.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico to fund college preparatory mentoring programs at the University of

New Mexico School of Law for students in the sixth through twelfth grades in the Albuquerque

public school system.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $300.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the

general fund.

This request was not submitted by UNM to the New Mexico Higher Education Department for

review. The Department’s funding recommendation for FY09 is a continuance of FY08 recurring

funding in the amount of $200,000 with no additional funding at this time.

Senate Bill 337 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The HED states:

The funding is for Los Companeros, a Latino-focused program. Los Companeros is a

long-term initiative currently in its seventh year, aimed at improving retention and

graduation rates for middle, high school, and college students. Often, students from

diverse economic and cultural backgrounds do not have the opportunity to attain their full

potential. The mission of Los Companeros, through the mentoring program, is to

promote both academic and personal success among Hispanic middle school students

through a culturally relevant mentoring program provided by university students.

Funding from appropriation will be used to pay the salaries of university undergraduate

students who are offering these essential mentoring services to middle and high school

students within the Albuquerque Public School system.

The program works collaboratively with the University of New Mexico and Albuquerque

Public Schools. Los Companeros has been able to secure space at seven local schools for

the program. Three to four mentors work at each site with a cohort of students (15

students in the middle schools and 30 in the high schools) whom they interact with on a

consistent basis. These interactions may occur before, during, or after school.

The students targeted for this program have graduated from Valley, Albuquerque, and

West Mesa high schools. The grant was written specifically for those students. They are

Hispanic students. Traditionally, those high schools have been underrepresented at the

university.

The program offers its undergraduate mentors both leadership and professional

development while working with middle and high school students. The mentors have

opportunities to network professionally during the New Mexico State Legislative Session

and at national conferences and seminars. Additionally they enjoy the benefits of flexible

employment that is highly supportive of their own educational needs.

The PED states that the UNM School of Law has developed this mentoring program in

conjunction with ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities in Education) for Albuquerque

Public Schools (APS) students grades 6-12. The purpose is to spark student interest in college

work in the areas of medicine, law and engineering. The program looks at a diverse population

of students and not just at-risk students. A major component of this program is that all students

will have a college mentor. The mentors are of a similar background to the students in order to

build upon experiences and increase the students’ self esteem. The mentor meets with their

student throughout the school year. During the summer all students are taken to UNM for a two-

week campus experience in which they are exposed to coursework, work experience in the

professional schools and to engage in team building activities.

RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 337 is related to HB 228 which appropriates the same amount for the same purpose

but limits the program to students in grades eight through twelve.

GH/bb