Two-year colleges and universities might see more money for retention programs if a Commission on Higher Education proposal passes.
Staff members from the commission have proposed awarding bonuses to universities that graduate at-risk students, defined as those who are low-income.
"New Mexico is one of the poorer states, and we feel that this is one avenue to look at in improving the economic outlook of the state," said Janet Wise, spokeswoman for the commission.
Universities that enroll low-income students as sophomores and recruit transfer students with an associate degree would be paid a bonus for each student.
The proposal goes before the commission Friday at a meeting at the UNM Valencia campus.
Eliseo Torres, vice president for Student Affairs, applauded the commission for coming up with a creative means to aid universities in helping students.
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UNM has many programs in place designed to retain students, including bridge programs and summer preparatory programs.
"We're firm believers in this," Torres said. "It's going to recognize some of the initiatives we're doing and improve them."
Wise said it is not a final proposal, though.
She said it could be that the definition of at-risk students or the population being targeted would change as the proposal moves forward.
Most low-income students are eligible for federal Pell Grants, which do not need to be repaid.
Wise said those eligible for Pell Grants are part of a population not graduating at the rates they would like to see.
"We would just like to see the retention rates at all the colleges and universities in New Mexico improve."
The proposal calls for $7 million, but the bonus amounts would be a decision made by the Legislature.
Wise said the commission would like to get started as soon as funds are available.
The commission compiles data to find graduation rates of universities in New Mexico. Wise said data shows UNM's six-year graduation rate at 38 percent, which means 38 percent of students receive a bachelor's degree in six years. Those numbers were taken from 1988-1997.
Mark Chisholm, director of Institutional Research at UNM, said the most recent numbers show the graduation rate at 40 percent.
"It's a little lower than we'd like it to be," he said. "Obviously the higher the better, because it's a way of measuring success."
The benchmark for institutions comparable to UNM, but that are not peer institutions, is a 46 percent graduation rate.
Chisholm said to measure graduation rate, UNM is compared to institutions that have students with average ACT scores of 22-24 and more than 18,000 students.
There is definitely a need for more money to support the kind of programs that help recruit and retain students at UNM, he said.
About 67 percent of jobs created by the year 2010 will require some college education, Wise said.
Torres said the proposal shows the state is making great investments in education.
"It's a great idea," he said. "I just hope it becomes a reality. We are doing so many things, but we can do more."
