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 masters 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.