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Amending the Lottery Scholarship means changing the way WNMU students receive money
Cassandra Bluett
Issue date: 2/24/05 Section: News
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Governor Bill Richardson has proposed changing the lottery scholarship. Currently, the lottery helps thousands of New Mexico students pay for their college tuition. Richardson hopes to change how funds are allocated to students by depositing a flat rate directly into the student's university account to be used for school expenses. The money could be put toward tuition, fees, books, or course supplies, but excludes room and board. There are two bills that support Richardson's idea. HB 777 by Representative Lucky Varela, a Santa Fe Democrat, and SB 651, sponsored by Silver City Democrat, Senate President Ben Altamirano.
The New Mexico Association of Community Colleges (NMACC) notes "decoupling from tuition and establishing a flat rate for educational expenses puts more control over tuition increases with the Legislature. Furthermore decoupling can also extend the life of the fund with the effect of less annual impact on the fund by large tuition increases."
Richardson hopes that the change will allow students to be eligible for federal tax breaks that were unavailable to scholarship earners. He also believes that the changes will also allow more students to take advantage of lottery scholarship funding.
"We all want the same thing: Make college more affordable through scholarships, widen access to financial assistance and hold our universities more accountable," Richardson said in unveiling the proposals earlier this month.
The governor's plan is drawing a massive amount of skepticism. The proposed idea would cap the scholarships at different levels. Students who enroll at UNM, New Mexico State University or New Mexico Tech would receive $1,400 in scholarship money, students attending WNMU, Eastern New Mexico, and New Mexico Highlands get $900, and community colleges would receive $500 in scholarships. This could potentially leave students paying more out of their pockets as tuition rises each year while funding remains the same.
The federal tax credit that students could collect under the proposed change isn't immediately available. Students who need the money won't be able to collect until well after expenses need to be paid. Critics say that the new idea could potentially force students to other schools out of state in search for cheaper tuition rates, dropping enrollment drastically.
The New Mexico Association of Community Colleges (NMACC) notes "decoupling from tuition and establishing a flat rate for educational expenses puts more control over tuition increases with the Legislature. Furthermore decoupling can also extend the life of the fund with the effect of less annual impact on the fund by large tuition increases."
Richardson hopes that the change will allow students to be eligible for federal tax breaks that were unavailable to scholarship earners. He also believes that the changes will also allow more students to take advantage of lottery scholarship funding.
"We all want the same thing: Make college more affordable through scholarships, widen access to financial assistance and hold our universities more accountable," Richardson said in unveiling the proposals earlier this month.
The governor's plan is drawing a massive amount of skepticism. The proposed idea would cap the scholarships at different levels. Students who enroll at UNM, New Mexico State University or New Mexico Tech would receive $1,400 in scholarship money, students attending WNMU, Eastern New Mexico, and New Mexico Highlands get $900, and community colleges would receive $500 in scholarships. This could potentially leave students paying more out of their pockets as tuition rises each year while funding remains the same.
The federal tax credit that students could collect under the proposed change isn't immediately available. Students who need the money won't be able to collect until well after expenses need to be paid. Critics say that the new idea could potentially force students to other schools out of state in search for cheaper tuition rates, dropping enrollment drastically.
