At the University of New Mexico and on campuses across our state, students are realizing the dream of a college education at numbers we have not seen in more than 10 years. As a member of the business community and an experienced entrepreneur, I know investments in higher education, like the Opportunity Scholarship, yield great dividends.
New Mexico has a history of innovation and leadership in making college accessible. In 1996, we launched the Lottery Scholarship and within 10 years, college enrollment grew, graduation rates increased, and conversations about college became the norm at the dinner table, especially for first-generation college students. Since then, there have been more than 87,000 Lottery Scholarship graduates.
New Mexico’s most recent innovation in higher education, the Opportunity Scholarship, has once again made New Mexico a national leader in college accessibility. Fall enrollment data is hot off the presses, and we can measure the impact of tuition-free college. At the University of New Mexico, more than 11,000 students are receiving the Opportunity Scholarship, created by the visionary leadership of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. This fall, our freshman class grew by 14% over last year and over 35% since the fall of 2019.
Since the implementation of the Opportunity Scholarship, doors have opened for New Mexicans. At UNM we have seen a 25% increase in American Indian first-time students, a 30% increase in African American first-time students and a 16% increase in Hispanic first-time students. With an average student age of 26 at our state’s colleges and universities and a growing population of returning adult learners and part-time working students, the Opportunity Scholarship is helping UNM serve a wide range of New Mexicans in ways that will enhance our workforce, improve our citizens’ quality of life and create new economic development.
Breaking down barriers to college and career training is critical for strengthening New Mexico’s workforce. Just this year, New Mexico added more than 30,000 new jobs in industries ranging from technology and film to cannabis, energy and manufacturing. In addition to these new jobs, we also have urgent needs for strengthening our workforce of teachers and health care workers. We need a robust pipeline for credentialed, highly-skilled workers to keep pace with workforce needs and pave the way for New Mexico’s economic future.
New Mexicans are excited by these growing career opportunities and are embracing college education as the key to fulfilling careers and family-sustaining wages. Over half our students are seeking degrees in science, tech, health care, education and trades. Thanks to the governor, New Mexico workers are also earning higher average salaries than ever before and more private businesses and firms are planting roots here.
Higher education changed my life. I grew up in northern New Mexico and graduated from Harvard and Stanford, and I am grateful for the platform to help create positive impact for the state I love. Education can do the same for today’s students in New Mexico.
The New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship is a promise to our students, and to all New Mexicans, that we will invest in their future. We know this investment will create and sustain better outcomes for our children, healthier communities, thriving businesses and a booming economy, if we keep that promise.
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