New Mexico Statutes
Article 1 - General Provisions Relating to State Educational Institutions
Section 21-1-2 - Matriculation and tuition fees.

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section and in Section 21-1-4.3 NMSA 1978 [repealed], the boards of regents of the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university, New Mexico highlands university, western New Mexico university, eastern New Mexico university, New Mexico military institute and New Mexico institute of mining and technology shall establish and charge matriculation fees and tuition fees as follows:
(1) each student shall be charged a matriculation fee of not less than five dollars ($5.00) upon enrolling in each institution;
(2) each student who is a resident of New Mexico shall be charged a tuition fee of not less than twenty dollars ($20.00) a year;
(3) each student who is not a resident of New Mexico shall be charged a tuition fee of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) a year;
(4) each student shall be charged a tuition fee of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) for each summer session; and
(5) each student may be charged a tuition fee for extension courses.
B. Except as otherwise provided in this section and in Section 21-1-4.3 NMSA 1978 [repealed], the board of regents of northern New Mexico college shall establish and charge each student a matriculation fee and a tuition fee.
C. The board of regents of each institution may establish and grant gratis scholarships to students who are residents of New Mexico in an amount not to exceed the matriculation fee or tuition and fees, or both. These scholarships are in addition to the lottery tuition scholarships authorized in Section 21-1-4.3 NMSA 1978 [repealed] and shall be granted to the full extent of available funds before lottery tuition scholarships are granted. The number of scholarships established and granted pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed three percent of the preceding fall semester enrollment in each institution and shall not be established and granted for summer sessions. The president of each institution shall select and recommend to the board of regents of the institution, as recipients of scholarships, students who possess good moral character and satisfactory initiative, scholastic standing and personality. Beginning with the fall semester of 2010, a minimum of one-half of the gratis scholarships established and granted by each board of regents each year shall be granted on the basis of financial need, and beginning with the fall semester of 2011, a minimum of two-thirds of the gratis scholarships established and granted by each board of regents each year shall be granted on the basis of financial need.
D. The board of regents or governing board of each institution set out in this subsection may establish and grant, in addition to those scholarships provided for in Subsection C of this section, athletic scholarships for tuition and fees. In no event shall the board of regents of any institution be allowed to award scholarships for tuition and fees for more than the number of athletic scholarships set out in this subsection and in no event shall more than seventy-five percent of the scholarships granted be for out-of-state residents:
(1) the board of regents of the university of New Mexico may grant up to two hundred ninety-three athletic scholarships;
(2) the board of regents of New Mexico state university may grant up to two hundred seventy athletic scholarships;
(3) the boards of regents of New Mexico highlands university, eastern New Mexico university and western New Mexico university may each grant up to one hundred forty athletic scholarships; and
(4) the governing board of New Mexico junior college may grant up to fifty-two athletic scholarships.
E. In the event that the number of athletic scholarships exceeds the number of athletic scholarships permitted that institution by regulations and bylaws of the national collegiate athletic association or the national association of intercollegiate athletics of which that institution is a member, the appropriate board of regents shall reduce the number of authorized tuition scholarships to comply with association rules and regulations.
F. Matriculation fees and tuition fees shall be fixed and made payable as directed by the board of regents of each institution, collected by the officers of each institution and accounted for as are other funds of the institutions. Matriculation fees shall be charged only once for each institution in which a student enrolls.
History: 1953 Comp., § 73-30-2, enacted by Laws 1970, ch. 9, § 1; 1977, ch. 327, § 1; 1989, ch. 44, § 3; 1989, ch. 45, § 3; 1989, ch. 68, § 1; 1996, ch. 71, § 1; 1997, ch. 102, § 1; 2000, ch. 52, § 2; 2009, ch. 47, § 1.
Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.
Section 21-1-4.3 NMSA 1978 was repealed by Laws 2014, ch. 80, § 10, effective March 12, 2014. For provisions of former section, see the 2013 NMSA 1978 on NMOneSource.com.
Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1970, ch. 9, § 1, repealed former 73-30-2, 1953 Comp., relating to tuition and matriculation, and enacted a new 73-30-2, 1953 Comp.
Cross references. — For tuition payments for residents conscripted into military service, see 21-1-4.1 NMSA 1978.
For the authority of the military institute to charge larger tuition fee, see 21-12-7 NMSA 1978.
For Senior Citizens Reduced Tuition Act, see 21-21D-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.
The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, deleted "and New Mexico junior college" after "technology"; in Subsection C, at the beginning of the last sentence, deleted "At least thirty-three and one-third percent" and added "Beginning with the fall semester of 2010, a minimum of one-half"; and at the end of the last sentence, added the language following "financial need"; in Subsection D, added "or governing board" after "regents"; and in Paragraph (4) of Subsection D, deleted "board of regents" and added "governing board".
The 2000 amendment, effective July 1, 2000, in Subsection C, substituted the second sentence for "Except as provided in Section 21-1-4.3 NMSA 1978" and inserted "pursuant to this subsection" in the present third sentence.
The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, in Subsection E, deleted the former first sentence relating to computing tuition credits using the value of athletic scholarships, substituted "In the event that the number of athletic scholarships exceeds" for "In no event shall the board of regents of any such institution be allowed to establish scholarships for tuition and fees from more than" and added the language beginning "the appropriate board" at the end of the subsection.
The 1996 amendment, effective May 15, 1996, inserted "and in Section 21-1-4.3 NMSA 1978" in Subsections A and B; in Subsection C, substituted "in an amount not to exceed" for "by waiving" in the first sentence and added "Except as provided in Section 21-1-4.3 NMSA 1978" in the second sentence; in Subsection D, substituted "for tuition" for "by waiving tuition" in the first sentence, and "award scholarships for" for "waive the" and "scholarships granted" for "waivers granted" in the second sentence, added "the board of regents of" at the beginning of Paragraphs (2) and (4), and deleted "board" following "college" in Paragraph (4); and, in Subsection E, substituted "scholarships for" for "waivers of" in the first sentence and "establish scholarships for" for "waive the" in the second sentence. Laws 1996, ch. 71 contains no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, is effective May 15, 1996, 90 days after adjournment of the legislature. See Volume 14 NMSA 1978 for "Adjournment Dates of Sessions of Legislature" table.
Constitutionality. — Based on its authority to provide and charge tuition for educational services, a board of regents may, consistently with the antidonation clause, use public money for scholarships in the form of tuition waivers or reductions if the criteria used to award them are education-related and applied in a reasonable and even-handed manner. 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No 97-02.
Scope of power to grant scholarships. — The board of regents of the state institution has discretionary power to establish, and to grant, in any one year a number of scholarships not exceeding 2% (now 3%) of the preceding fall semester enrollment, to any students within the institution, regardless of the academic class of such students or their graduate or under graduate status. 1954 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 54-6039 (overruled on other grounds 1997 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 97-02).
All students enrolled for credit may be considered. — All students enrolled for credit at the college may be considered for computation of scholarships. 1959 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 59-76.
Charges must be for instruction. — Only those charges which are for instruction may be granted as scholarships. 1959 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 59-76.
Meaning of "tuition". — The word "tuition" contemplates a charge for instruction as opposed to a charge for student activities, library, room and board and the like. 1959 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 59-76.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 15A Am. Jur. Colleges and Universities §§ 19, 20.
14A C.J.S. Colleges and Universities §§ 31, 33.

Structure New Mexico Statutes