Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration is investing in transformative opportunities for New Mexico families, and that transformation begins with education. By creating tuition-free higher education for New Mexicans at public institutions across the state, we are ensuring students and returning-adult learners have every chance to pursue and attain the skills they need to thrive in a 21st-century economy. New Mexico was the first state to offer tuition-free college through the Lottery Scholarship, but tuition has risen while lottery earnings have declined, leaving college students with a significant financial burden – significant enough that many New Mexicans decide they can’t afford to continue their education after high school or return to finish a degree. Today, the Lottery Scholarship only covers 60 to 75 percent of those costs for students. The Opportunity Scholarship will restore the initial promise of the Lottery Scholarship, enabling tuition-free college for 55,000 students across the state. By supplementing the Lottery Scholarship with the Opportunity Scholarship, students will pay no tuition or fees at any of the state’s 29 public institutions of higher education, where enrollment will subsequently increase. The stage will be set for big economic benefits in the future, including better employment opportunities, higher overall incomes, and a stronger workforce for New Mexico. That’s why the Opportunity Scholarship matters. By the numbers:

• Lottery Scholarship recipients are three times more likely to receive a degree
• Lottery Scholarship students with four or more semesters have a 70 percent degree completion rate
• Lottery Scholarship students with seven or more semesters have a 95 percent degree completion rate
• In general, degree completion rates are 47% higher for students who received the Lottery Scholarship
• As the gap in the Lottery Scholarship tuition coverage has widened, schools like New Mexico Tech have seen a direct correlation in a decrease in enrollment