New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 5 - POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 7 - TUITION AND FINANCIAL AID › Part 37 - NEW MEXICO OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM › Section 5.7.37.8 - STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. A
				scholarship may be awarded to a qualified student who:
(1) has not earned a bachelor's, master's
				degree or doctoral degree at the time the scholarship is awarded;
(2) is enrolled in at least six credit hours
				per spring or fall semester and no more than eighteen credit hours per fall or
				spring semester; except that the credit-hour minimums do not apply to a student
				in the last semester before graduation and if a qualified student enrolls in
				more than eighteen credit hours any tuition charges which exceed tuition
				charged for the maximum of eighteen credit hours shall not be funded by the
				scholarship;
(3) is enrolled in at
				least three and no more than nine credit hours per summer semester; provided
				that a student is not required to attend a summer semester to maintain
				eligibility; and
(4) maintains a
				cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
(5) has established and maintained New Mexico
				residency as defined in
				5.7.18.9 NMAC, is eligible for a
				nondiscrimination waiver as defined in Subsection K of
				5.7.18.10 NMAC or is an active
				member of the New Mexico National Guard. All residency requirements for recent
				graduate learners must be met upon completion of high school, graduation or
				receipt of a high school equivalency credential recognized by the state of New
				Mexico;
(6) has been determined to
				be a qualified student; and
(7) has
				met requirements in Paragraphs (1) through (6) of Subsection A of
				5.7.37.8 NMAC or students with
				exceptional mitigating circumstances as determined by the institution's lead
				financial aid officer; students who are incapable of meeting the requirements
				specified in Paragraphs (1) through (6) of Subsection A of
				5.7.37.8 NMAC due to a documented
				exceptional mitigating circumstance do not forfeit eligibility for the
				opportunity scholarship; however, the following requirements shall apply:
(a) the student shall provide documents
				certifying the nature of the students exceptional mitigating circumstance to
				the institution's lead financial aid officer at the post-secondary educational
				institution at which the student is enrolling or will enroll; the institution's
				lead financial aid officer shall exercise professional judgment to determine
				whether the exceptional mitigating circumstance is beyond the student's control
				and precludes the student from meeting the requirements specified in Paragraphs
				(1) through (6) of Subsection A of
				5.7.37.8 NMAC;
(b) if, in the professional judgment of the
				institution's lead financial aid officer, the student's exceptional mitigating
				circumstance is recognized as a valid reason for the student's inability to
				meet the requirements specified in Paragraphs (1) through (6) of Subsection A
				of 5.7.37.8 NMAC the student's initial
				or continuing eligibility for the opportunity scholarship shall be suspended or
				deferred unless and until such time that the student is capable of meeting the
				requirements of Paragraphs (1) through (6) Subsection A of
				5.7.37.8 NMAC.