Tuition-free college for New Mexicans.
With the Opportunity and Lottery Scholarships, there are options for New Mexicans to pursue college and career training without worrying about the cost of tuition and fees.
Tuition-free college for New Mexicans.
With the New Mexico Opportunity and Lottery Scholarships, there are options for New Mexicans to pursue college and career training without worrying about the cost of tuition and fees.
What is tuition-free higher education?
With the Opportunity and Lottery Scholarships, New Mexico is home to the most generous and inclusive tuition-free college program in the United States!
New Mexico is increasing access to college degrees and career training programs, limiting or eliminating student debt, and promoting family and economic prosperity to strengthen our communities and state.
History
New Mexico was the first state in the nation to implement a tuition-free college program in 1996 with the Lottery Scholarship, which provides tuition-free college to recent high school graduates.
New Mexico was the first state in the nation to implement a tuition-free college program in 1996 with the Lottery Scholarship, which provides tuition-free college to recent high school graduates.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham expanded tuition-free college to more New Mexicans with the Opportunity Scholarship, which was created as a budget item in 2020 and made the program permanent by law in 2022.
The Opportunity Scholarship led to the first enrollment increase in New Mexico in more than a decade, with statewide enrollment increasing by nearly ten percent. New Mexico ranked second for enrollment increases nationwide in Fall of 2022, countering a national trend of declining college enrollment.
Over 46,000 scholarships have been awarded in every region of the state to students pursuing career training certificates, two-year degrees and four-year degrees.
The Opportunity Scholarship is fully funded and ready to help tens of thousands of students pursue their college and career.
“For over a quarter of a century, New Mexico has been a national leader in providing free college to its residents. A fully funded Opportunity Scholarship opens the door for every New Mexican to reach higher, strengthening our economy, our families and our communities. Signing this legislation sends a clear message to New Mexicans that we believe in them and the contributions they will make for their families and the future of our great state.” – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
In the News
College In New Mexico Is Now Tuition-Free, Even For Part-Time Students
It's the most wide-reaching tuition-free scholarship program in the United States, according to the office of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. According to the governor’s office, the program is the most wide-reaching tuition-free scholarship program in the United...
Expanded college opportunity benefits entire state
Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican The decision to make college virtually tuition-free for most New Mexicans will pay dividends for the state for years. That is, so long as the state can keep paying tuition and fees while also reining in the urge of college and...
New Mexico Introduces A Strong Free College Program, Will More States Follow?
Source: Forbes Free college proposals are stalled out at the federal level, with it seeming increasingly unlikely that a federal free college program will get passed before the midterms. The states are still working to introduce new promise programs to support...
New Mexico’s governor just signed a bill to make college tuition-free
Source: CNN (CNN)For most New Mexico residents, college will now be officially tuition-free. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed on Friday Senate Bill 140, otherwise known as the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship Act. First introduced in 2019, the plan will...
Free college is now a reality in nearly 30 states
Source: CNBC “I didn’t want to give up, but it could have come to the point that I couldn’t afford school,” said Carla Osborn, 31, from Portales, New Mexico. Osborn is studying nursing at Clovis Community College, located in a very small town near New Mexico’s border...
