New Mexico Higher Education Department Annual Report, 2013
Author: New Mexico Higher Education Department
Date: 2013-12-30
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Higher Education,Annual Reports,Enrollment Trends,Academic Persistence,College Students,College Freshmen,Student Financial Aid,Student Loan Programs,Scholarships,Loan Repayment,Adult Basic Education,Academic Achievement,Family Structure,Family Income,Racial Differences,Ethnic Groups,Age Differences,Financial Support,Funding Formulas,Outcomes of Education,Performance,American Indian Education,Private Schools,Proprietary Schools,Dual Enrollment,Remedial Programs,Articulation (Education),Transfer Rates (College),Nursing Education,Expenditures,Resource Allocation,Tuition,Fees,Two Year Colleges,Community Colleges,Public Colleges,Tribally Controlled Education,Special Schools

The performance of higher education in New Mexico--measured by cost-efficiency, degree production, graduation rates, and a host of other metrics--remains exceptionally low in comparison with all but two or three other states. For most of the 2013 calendar year the Higher Education Department worked on various fronts to address the most pressing issues. Most prominent among these were the funding formula and the fate of the Lottery Scholarship. The new performance-based funding formula, written by the Higher Education Department in 2011 with the collaboration of the institutions of higher learning, rewards institutions for improving their performance in granting certificates and degrees. Additional rewards are given for awarding certificates and degrees to at-risk students and in STEMH fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and health). Unfortunately, the legislature did not adhere to the Higher Education funding formula in rewarding institutions according to their relative performance. During much of 2013 the Department focused on making a number of significant improvements to the formula, and on communicating more effectively with members of the boards of regents and governing boards about the need for serious performance based funding. While the data show improvement in degree production in the past three years, STEMH production in 2012-2013 was down compared with the previous academic year, and it seems unlikely a significant shift in degree productivity will occur until institutions know they will not be rewarded in their budgets except through improvement. A major hindrance to a college education is the inability to pay rising costs. Until 2013, recent high school graduates could rely upon the Legislative Lottery Scholarship. However, that fund is no longer adequate to provide assistance to all New Mexico college students. In 2013, a work group comprised of legislative representatives, college students, representatives from the state's higher education institutions and others met to create recommendations to the lottery fund shortfall. A number of recommendations came out of this work group, however the group as a whole did not endorse any recommendations to present to the legislature. This 2013 annual report provides updates and statistics from the following departments: (1) Planning and Research Division; (2) Financial Aid Division; (3) Adult Basic Education Division; (4) Indian Education Division; (5) NMHED GEAR UP Division; (6) Private and Proprietary Schools (PPS) Division; (7) P-20 Division; (8) Institutional Finance Division; and (9) Capital Projects Division.