SB 235 HIGHER ED STUDENT RETENTION & GRADUATION

Sen Antonio "Moe" Maestas

Actions: [4] SCC/SEC/SFC-SCC-germane-SEC [6] DP-SFC

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 Senate Bill 235 (SB 235) appropriates one million dollars ($1,000,000) to the Higher Education Department to expand existing efforts to retain students and improve graduation rates at all public institutions of higher education.
 

 Senate Bill 235 (SB 235) appropriates one million dollars ($1,000,000) from the General Fund (GF) to the Higher Education Department for expenditure in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 to expand existing efforts to retain students and improve graduation rates at all public institutions of higher education.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2025 reverts to the GF. 
 

 In a report given to the Legislative Finance Council (LFC) at a hearing in FY 2022, the Higher Education Department (HED) noted: 
•	Higher educational institutions (HEIs) face several significant challenges, including low college-going rates and student difficulties in completing degrees within 150 percent of the normal time. This study demonstrates that state college-going rates have fallen from 72 percent of graduating high school students in 2010 to 61 percent in 2018; 
•	The U.S. average college- going rate over this same time has remained relatively stable and was 64 percent in 2018. New Mexico has lower retention rates than the U.S. average for four-year schools;
•	Enrollment at New Mexico’s 24 public colleges and universities has declined since its peak in 2010 by 27 percent while nationally, enrollment fell by 11 percent during this same time period;
•	For cohorts of students beginning their studies between 1996 and 2014, the most recent period for which national data are available, the graduation rates for New Mexico students were between 9 percent and 15 percent lower than the national average.
This report noted there were several programs in place to cure the retention problem but that these programs need to be monitored for effectiveness. One recently adopted change is the transferability of general credits between state HEIs. Other programs include tutoring and mentoring programs; student wellbeing initiatives; and scholarship programs including tuition-free options.
https://www.nmlegis.gov/Entity/LFC/Documents/Agency_Report_Cards/952-980%20-%20HEI%20Q2%20Report%20Card.pdf 
https://hed.nm.gov/news/higher-education-department-calls-for-plans-to-address-enrollment-and-student-successhttps://hed.nm.gov/free-college-for-new-mexico