The liberal group New Mexico Voices for Children has released a new report (covered in the Santa Fe New Mexican and with a quote from RGF’s Paul Gessing) that encourages imposition of an income cap on families of students receiving the Lottery Scholarship. The report is backed up by legislation House Bill 146 that would alter the eligibility rules for the program to favor those with lower incomes.
Enforcement of the bill would hinge on the bill’s attempt to limit the program to those “whose expected family contribution is less than one hundred fifty percent of the total cost of attendance as calculated by the financial aid officer of the public post-secondary educational institution.”
But should the program be limited based on income? There are problems with the Lottery scholarship program, especially the use of funds from the broader state budget to prop it up. Ultimately, we’d like to see the money available split up among eligible participants on an equitable basis for the students themselves to use as they see fit for their educations.
It should be a Higher GPA Requirement, minimum 3.0GPA to qualify for the Scholarship
And on majors that don’t have a history of dropping out of college
There should be a quick study on what GPA and what Majors are least likely to drop out of college and set the requirements to match those students
Because it is not needs-based, the Lottery Scholarship is a nice entitlement for middle-class and affluent families but is insufficient for needy students who often drop out of school for lack of money. The solution is to make it an actual scholarship program that awards stipends to some students based on academic merit and financial need.
As a parent of a UNM student currently attending UNM with the lottery scholarship, I find this to be completely unfair. We based our decision on where my son was going to attend college in large part on the cost being offset by the lottery shcolarship, and he would not be burdened with Student Loans. There was really not thought of other schools in or out of NM because of the cost benefit of staying here. If the scholarship goes to needs based, we may no longer qualify, and at that point have to re-evaluate based on cost whether or not he continues at UNM or goes elsewhere, perhaps even out of state for that experience, since the cost would not be that much different. The lottery scholarship has been great for us…and it would be extremely unsettling if it were to be unavailable to us, and a hardship based upon how we counted on it, and he has complied with the requirements to qualify, he understands the importance of contuing to get good grades to ensure he cab continue to attend UNM, which he is really enjoying and thriving in. To pull this rug out would be cruel