HOUSE MEMORIAL 52

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

INTRODUCED BY

Art De La Cruz and Brian G. Baca and Joseph L. Sanchez and Nathan P. Small

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO UNDERTAKE OR CONTRACT FOR A STUDY OF THE FEASIBILITY OF CREATING A GRADUATE STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM.

 

     WHEREAS, the cost of graduate programs varies depending on the length of time of a program, the institution and the degree; and

     WHEREAS, a doctoral degree or a graduate professional law or medical degree, for example, costs more than a graduate master's degree; and

     WHEREAS, the estimated tuition for graduate school at the university of New Mexico per year for a full-time student who is a resident is ten thousand eight hundred dollars ($10,800); and

     WHEREAS, the estimated tuition for graduate school at the university of New Mexico per year for a full-time student who is not a resident is twenty-nine thousand six hundred eighty-one dollars ($29,681); and

     WHEREAS, graduate students must pay additionally for housing, meals, books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the higher education department be requested to undertake or contract for a study of the feasibility of creating a graduate student loan program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the higher education department be requested to study:

          A. eligibility requirements for graduate students participating in a loan program;

          B. loan terms, including interest rates, term of repayment and residency requirements for the duration of the repayment term;

          C. the institutions of higher education, whether public or private, that would be eligible for a graduate loan program;

          D. the courses of study that could be eligible for the graduate loan program;

          E. the costs of implementing a graduate loan program; and

          F. existing graduate loan programs and the feasibility of extending an existing program to other graduate courses of study; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the higher education department be requested to report the results of the study to the legislative education study committee and the legislative finance committee no later than December 1, 2024; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of higher education, the legislative education study committee and the legislative finance committee.

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