New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVI, Issue 13 / July 15, 2025

 

 

TITLE 5              POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

CHAPTER 7      TUITION AND FINANCIAL AID

PART 15             GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

 

5.7.15.1                ISSUING AGENCY:  State of New Mexico Higher Education Department.

[5.7.15.1 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.1 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.2                SCOPE:  Provisions of 5.7.15 NMAC apply to New Mexico residents who are graduate students enrolled at New Mexico four-year public post-secondary institutions.

[5.7.15.2 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.2 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.3                STATUTORY AUTHORITY:  Section 21-21G, NMSA 1978.

[5.7.15.3 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.3 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.4                DURATION:  Permanent.

[5.7.15.4 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.4 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.5                EFFECTIVE DATE:  July 15, 2025, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.

[5.7.15.5 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.5 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.6                OBJECTIVE:  The objective and purpose of 5.7.15 NMAC is to increase graduate enrollment in the state's public universities of students from groups underrepresented in graduate education. By encouraging groups underrepresented in graduate education to pursue advanced degrees in accredited graduate programs, particularly in academic fields of high regional and national priority and fields where their under-representation is most severe, the state will benefit by increasing the number of professionals for industry, business, research and development, economic development and public service.

[5.7.15.6 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.6 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.7                DEFINITIONS:

               A.           "Academic year" means the consecutive period of two semesters or other comparable units commencing with the fall term each year.

               B.           "Award recipient" means a student who is a New Mexico resident and is awarded a graduate scholarship.

               C.           "Department" means the New Mexico higher education department.

               D.           "Eligible institution" means a graduate-degree-granting state university enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the Constitution of New Mexico and accredited by the higher learning commission.

               E.           "Financial need" means the difference between a student's projected costs for the year, including books, materials, supplies, room and board and other reasonable costs, and the student's resources, including available income and other available assets as determined by an approved standardized needs analysis system.

               F.            "GPA” means grade point average

               G.           "Graduate field" means a program of study intended to result in a master's or doctoral degree, excluding a doctor of medicine.

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

               I.            "Scholarship" means an award made by an eligible institution to an award recipient for graduate study under the Graduate Scholarship Act.

[5.7.15.7 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.7 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.8                APPLICATION AND STUDENT ELIGIBILITY: A student applies directly to the eligble institution that has received an allocation of scholarships.

               A.           Conditions for first-year eligibility:  Priority shall be given to students who are New Mexico residents with the greatest financial need and from groups underrepresented in graduate education. A scholarship may be awarded to a New Mexico resident who has:

                              (1)          earned a bachelor's degree and maintained a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale or who holds a paid position supporting faculty teaching or research activities;

                              (2)          met the admission requirements, is accepted for enrollment at an eligible instituion and enrolls in at least six credit hours in a graduate field of study; and

                              (3)          complied with all the rules adopted by the department for award of the scholarship and the provisions regarding the administration of the graduate scholarship program.

               B.           Conditions for continuing eligibility:  A scholarship may be re-awarded to a student who:

                              (1)          was an award recipient the previous year;

                              (2)          maintains a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale and remains in good academic standing as determined by the eligble institution; and

                              (3)          is enrolled in at least six credit hours in a graduate field of study.

               C.           A financial aid officer may exercise professional judgment when special circumstances exist to adjust the cost of attendance or the expected family contribution or to modify other factors that make the program responsive to a student's special financial circumstances and for which documentation exists in the student's file within the parameters authorized for this program.

[5.7.15.8 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.8 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.9                AMOUNT AND DURATION OF SCHOLARSHIP:

               A.           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 otherwise maintain eligibility.

               B.           A graduate scholarship may be granted until the award recipient either receives a master’s or doctoral degree in a graduate field or has qualified and received eight semesters of scholarship, whichever occurs first.

[5.7.15.9 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.9 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.10              INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

               A.           The eligible institution shall give preference to:

                              (1)          students from groups underrepresented in graduate education;

                              (2)          students who have previously been awarded a graduate scholarship under this program, within the limits of eligibility established in 5.7.15.9 NMAC; then

                              (3)          students who have been newly recruited to the institution, thereby adding to its enrollment of graduate and professional students from underrepresented groups.

               C.           The eligible institution shall not reduce its level of financial aid from other sources for award recipients.

               D.           The eligible institution shall appoint an individual with appropriate educational background, experience, and institutional authority and responsibility to administer this program.

               E.           The eligible institution shall establish appropriate scholarship selection procedures and maintain appropriate data and records. Each major department involved in the program shall provide appropriate orientation, practical experiences and assistance designed to prepare scholarship recipients for academic and/or professional careers.

               F.            By September 1 of each year, the eligible institution shall submit to the department an annual report summarizing for the prior academic year the number of award recipients, by group and field; the expenditures and beginning and year-end balances for the program; and such other information as may be requested by the department.

               G.           At the request of the department, representatives of eligible institutions shall meet to discuss and coordinate the definition of academic fields of high regional and national priority and other matters pertaining to the program.

[5.7.15.10 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.10 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.11              DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOLARSHIPS:

               A.           Each eligible institution will receive its annual share of new scholarship dollars based upon the average of its:

                              (1)          total graduate and professional enrollment of women;

                              (2)          total graduate and professional enrollment of minorities; and

                              (3)          total graduate and professional enrollment.

               B.           No eligible institution shall receive fewer than three scholarships per year. If any eligible institution is to be allocated fewer than three scholarships, a pro rata share of scholarships shall be taken from the two eligible institutions with the highest number of scholarships and allocated to those eligible institutions which would otherwise receive fewer than three scholarships.

[5.7.15.11 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.11 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

5.7.15.12              TERMINATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS:  A scholarship is terminated upon the occurrence of:

               A.           withdrawal from the eligible institution by the award recipient or failure to re-enroll for consecutive academic semesters or failure to maintain the required GPA and other qualifications for the scholarship; or

               B.           substantial noncompliance by the award recipient with the Graduate Scholarship Act or the rules or procedures promulgated by the department.

[5.7.15.12 NMAC – Rp., 5.7.15.12 NMAC, 7/15/2025]

 

History OF 5.7.15 NMAC:

 

Pre-NMAC History:  The material in this part was derived from that previously filed with the State Records Center and Archives under:

CHE Rule 890, Graduate Fellowship Program - Administrative Regulations, 3/8/1990.

CHE Rule 890, Graduate Fellowship Program - Administrative Regulations, 8/15/1991.

CHE Rule 890, Graduate Fellowship Program - Administrative Regulations, 7/1/1993.

 

History of Repealed Material:  [RESERVED]

 

Other History:

5.7.15 NMAC – Graduate Scholarship Program, filed 7/15/1998, was repealed and replaced by 5.7.15 NMAC – Graduate Scholarship Program, effective 7/15/2025.