While enrollment of first-year college students dropped nationwide this year, New Mexico’s numbers are actually on the rise. The state Higher Education Department announced Wednesday that nearly 10% more freshmen are taking classes this fall than last.
Preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows there are 5% fewer first-year college students nationwide this year.
Higher Education Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez points to the Opportunity Scholarship as the driving force behind New Mexico bucking the national trend with a 9.2% increase. The scholarship makes colleges and universities tuition-free for most New Mexico residents.
“Since we’ve implemented this program, we have seen consistent enrollment increases,” she said. “We are going to be the only state in the country to see an enrollment increase for the third year in a row.”
Rodriguez said the more than 23% rise in first-year enrollment since 2021 follows more than a decade of declines. This year’s freshman class has even surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to the department, though overall enrollment still hasn’t caught up with where things stood in 2019.
While most freshmen are straight out of high school, Rodriquez said the average New Mexico college student is 26 years old.
“The Opportunity Scholarship caters to that base,” she said. “So, people who are raising their families, people who dropped out of school but need the opportunity to go back to school and they can afford it now because their state covers it.”
The scholarship is available at public colleges or universities in New Mexico to residents who are recent high school graduates or adults without a college degree. Students returning to college must have less than 160 credits towards a bachelor’s degree or 90 credits towards an associate degree. To hold onto the scholarship, students have to be enrolled in at least six credits and maintain a 2.5 GPA.
Rodriguez said the data shows more students are choosing to stay in New Mexico for college because their state is investing in their education.
“It means we’re building a workforce right here in New Mexico — a home-grown workforce,” she said.
With declining confidence in college degrees, according to a recent Gallup poll, and a high need in New Mexico for more skilled workers, Rodriguez said her department is working to ensure this freshman class will graduate into good jobs.
“Our courses are aligning with industry,” she said. “We’re actually bringing professionals into our offices and talking about, ‘What do you need our students to know so they’re ready to go when you hire them?’”
She said the department is also working with the state’s Workforce Solutions Department to ensure courses exist to help fill the state’s specific labor shortages.
