Editing New Mexico (section)

===Postsecondary education===
{{See also|List of colleges and universities in New Mexico}}
[[File:Nm-public-schools-map.jpg|thumb|400x400px|Public New Mexico colleges and universities. New Mexico Higher Education Department.]]
New Mexico has 41 accredited, degree-granting institutions; twelve are private and 29 are state-funded, including four tribal colleges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Mexico Map of Colleges and Universities |website=NM Higher Education Department |url=https://hed.state.nm.us/students-parents/find-a-college/nm-map |access-date=2022-04-07 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320161844/https://hed.state.nm.us/students-parents/find-a-college/nm-map |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Private Post-Secondary School Directory |website=NM Higher Education Department |url=https://hed.state.nm.us/resources-for-schools/private-post-secondary-schools/private-post-secondary-school-directory |access-date=2022-04-07 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320102608/https://hed.state.nm.us/resources-for-schools/private-post-secondary-schools/private-post-secondary-school-directory |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Best Colleges in New Mexico|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/nm|website=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=August 11, 2021|archive-date=August 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811224540/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/nm|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, select students can attend certain institutions in Colorado, at in-state tuition rates, pursuant to a reciprocity program between the two states.<ref>[https://registrar.unm.edu/forms/nmcrpa.pdf ''New Mexico–Colorado Tuition Reciprocity Agreement''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017030507/https://registrar.unm.edu/forms/nmcrpa.pdf |date=October 17, 2021 }} UNM Office of Admissions and Recruitment</ref>

Graduates of four-year colleges in New Mexico have some of the lowest student debt burdens in the U.S.; the class of 2017 owed an average of $21,237 compared with a national average of $28,650, according to the [[The Institute for College Access and Success|Institute for College Access & Success]].<ref name="Romero-2019">{{Cite news |last1=Romero |first1=Simon |last2=Goldstein |first2=Dana |date=September 18, 2019 |title=New Mexico Announces Plan for Free College for State Residents |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/us/new-mexico-free-college-tuition.html |access-date=2022-04-07 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407204451/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/us/new-mexico-free-college-tuition.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

New Mexico ranked 13th in the 2022 Social Mobility Index (SMI), which measures the extent to which economically disadvantaged students (with family incomes below the national median) have access to colleges and universities with lower tuition and indebtedness and higher job prospects.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=CollegeNET |last2=CollegeNET |title=Social Mobility Index College Rankings by CollegeNET |url=http://www.socialmobilityindex.org/ |access-date=2022-12-18 |website=www.socialmobilityindex.org |language=en |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012082350/https://www.socialmobilityindex.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Major flagship (R1) universities ====
* [[University of New Mexico|University of New Mexico at Albuquerque]]
* [[New Mexico State University|New Mexico State University at Las Cruces]]

====Regional state universities====
* [[New Mexico Tech|New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology at Socorro]] 
* [[Eastern New Mexico University|Eastern New Mexico University at Portales]]
* [[New Mexico Highlands University|New Mexico Highlands University at Las Vegas]]
* [[Western New Mexico University|Western New Mexico University at Silver City]]

====Lottery scholarship====

New Mexico is one of eight states that fund college scholarships through the state [[lottery]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Comparison of States' Lottery Scholarship Programs |url=https://thec.ppr.tn.gov/THECSIS/Lottery/pdfs/SpecialReports/A%20Comparison%20of%20States'%20Lottery%20Scholarship%20Programs%20120717.pdf |website=tn.gov/thec |publisher=Tennessee Higher Education Commission |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113061111/https://thec.ppr.tn.gov/THECSIS/Lottery/pdfs/SpecialReports/A%20Comparison%20of%20States%27%20Lottery%20Scholarship%20Programs%20120717.pdf |archive-date=November 13, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bryan-2018b">{{cite news |last1=Montoya Bryan |first1=Susan |title=Falling lottery sales pinch college scholarships in 8 states{{snd}}The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/03/02/falling-lottery-sales-pinch-college-scholarships-states/dQJQCVq9ulGtn2orSu29nI/story.html |work=The Boston Globe |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144226/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/03/02/falling-lottery-sales-pinch-college-scholarships-states/dQJQCVq9ulGtn2orSu29nI/story.html |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Peterson-2019">{{cite web |last1=Peterson |first1=Deb |title=Which States Have Lottery Scholarships |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/which-states-have-lottery-scholarships-31569 |website=ThoughtCo. |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627115730/https://www.thoughtco.com/which-states-have-lottery-scholarships-31569 |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The state requires that the [[New Mexico Lottery|lottery]] put 30% of its gross sales into the scholarship fund.<ref>{{cite news |author= Jessica Dyer |title= NM lottery scholarships to get big increase |url= https://www.abqjournal.com/1173844/nm-lottery-scholarship-gets-boost-for-2018-19.html |newspaper=Albuquerque Journal |date= May 18, 2018 |access-date= June 27, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180627115723/https://www.abqjournal.com/1173844/nm-lottery-scholarship-gets-boost-for-2018-19.html |archive-date= June 27, 2018 |url-status= live }}</ref>
The scholarship is available to residents who graduated from a state high school, and attend a state university full-time while maintaining a 2.5 GPA or higher.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legislative Lottery Scholarship Program |url=http://www.hed.state.nm.us/students/lotteryscholarship.aspx |website=www.hed.state.nm.us |publisher=New Mexico Higher Education Department |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144328/http://www.hed.state.nm.us/students/lotteryscholarship.aspx |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> It covered 100% of tuition when it was first instated in 1996,<ref name="Bryan-2018a">{{cite news |last1=Montoya Bryan |first1=Susan |title=Changes made in lottery scholarship system |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/1143417/new-mexico-changes-system-for-state-lottery-scholarships.html |newspaper=Albuquerque Journal |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627115725/https://www.abqjournal.com/1143417/new-mexico-changes-system-for-state-lottery-scholarships.html |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> decreased to 90%, then dropped to 60% in 2017.<ref name="Bryan-2018b" /> The value slightly increased in 2018, and new legislation was passed to outline what funds are available per type of institution.<ref name="Bryan-2018a" />

==== Opportunity scholarship ====
In September 2019, New Mexico announced a plan to make tuition at its public colleges and universities free for all state residents, regardless of family income.<ref name="Romero-2019"/> The proposal was described as going further than any other existing state or federal plan or program at the time.<ref name="Romero-2019" /> In March 2022, New Mexico became the first state to offer free college tuition for all residents, after the legislature passed a bipartisan bill allocating almost 1 percent of the state budget toward covering tuition and fees at all 29 public colleges, universities, community colleges, and tribal colleges.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news |last=Romero |first=Simon |date=March 31, 2022 |title=What if College Were Free? This State Is Trying to Find Out. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/us/new-mexico-free-college.html |access-date=2022-04-07 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407204520/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/us/new-mexico-free-college.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The program, which takes effect July 1, 2022, is described as among the most ambitious and generous in the country, as it is available to all residents regardless of income, work status, or legal status, and is provided without taking into account other scholarships and sources of financial aid.<ref name="auto1"/>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140" caption="Four campus libraries" style="line-height:130%">
Unm zimmermanlibrary.jpg|Zimmerman Library at The University of New Mexico
NMSU Zuhl 2008.JPG|Zuhl Library at New Mexico State University
Walkway outside Golden Library, NMU.jpg|Walkway outside Golden Library at Eastern New Mexico University
donnelly library.jpg|Donnelly Library at New Mexico Highlands University
</gallery>