Staff Report
The N.M. Commission on Higher Education released a report last week, which refuted the Harvard University study that declared several states' lottery scholarship programs - including New Mexico's - ineffective.
Jerry Armijo, the commission's chairman, and Bruce Hamlett, the commission's executive director, wrote the report. In it, Armijo and Hamlett claim that the "Lottery Success Scholarship Program, created by the New Mexico Legislature in 1996, has been a tremendous success."
The report also states, "More than 14,000 New Mexicans have received success scholarships, and 78 percent of these recipients have either graduated from college with a degree or are still enrolled in progress for a degree."
The original Harvard study was released in late August and reported that the Bridge to Success and Lottery Success scholarship programs do not boost college attendance among the state's high school seniors and also widens the enrollment gap between whites and minorities.
UNM social science associate professors Melissa Binder and Philip Ganderton contributed to the study with research from late-'90s lottery scholarship statistics. The study also researched lottery scholarship programs in Illinois, West Virginia, Georgia and Florida, with similar results.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The commission's report disputed the Harvard study's criticism, citing differences between New Mexico's lottery scholarship program and the other states' programs.
"New Mexico's program, however, is very different from these other programs," the report states. "Georgia, for example, requires a 3.0 GPA in high school college preparatory classes to achieve eligibility. Most other states have similar eligibility requirements, requiring a combination of GPA and SAT/ACT scores."
"In contrast, New Mexico's program is open to all high school graduates, regardless of income level, as long as they go directly onto college."
The report does state that the N.M. lottery scholarship program can be strengthened.
It outlines several proposals presented to the commission, including expanding the program to include students who go to college on a part-time basis; allowing students to stay out of school one year after high school graduation before going on to college; and including a provision for older working adults with dependent children to help cover their expenses for attending college.
The report states, "it is clear that low income students in New Mexico need additional financial assistance to cover the increasing costs of attending college. Historically, the federal government has been the major provider of financial aid targeted for low-income students ... During the past decade, the federal government has moved away from this commitment."
The debt burden incurred by New Mexico college students is significant and growing, and need-based financial aid is growing at a slower rate than the cost of attending college, the report said.
The commission will address questions about the lottery scholarship program at its meetings during the next three months. According to the report, the decision on whether to change the program will be made in November.
