Governor Susana Martinez on Friday unveiled a new long-term plan which envisions 66 percent of working-age New Mexicans having college degrees by 2030.
The curtain on the initiative, coined “Route to 66,” was pulled back during Martinez’s 2nd Annual Higher Education Summit on Friday at Embassy Suites.
The idea was conceived at a meeting between the governor’s office and higher-ed stakeholders last month, she said.
“With your help, we’re putting it into motion today,” she said.
Currently, 43.6 percent of working-age people across the state have college degrees.
Martinez took the opportunity to address the progress of goals put forth in last year’s inaugural summit — which was held in the SUB Ballroom — and introduce stakeholders to new initiatives.
“A strong higher-education system that graduates students in four years, with degrees that are relevant to the state’s economy, is a path forward,” Martinez said, emphasizing her strong belief that 15 credit hours per semester should be considered “realistic” to students at four-year institutions.
Last year, Martinez set forth the goal of increasing the amount of 120 credit-hour degrees offered at universities statewide.
In a May meeting between the Governor’s Office and UNM regents, Martinez said she learned that only a third of degree programs met the 120-hour mark.
But over the past few months, that figure has nearly doubled, “to the 63 percent of all programs that we celebrate today.”
She said higher-education institutions should reward students who consistently take 15 credit hours with tuition incentives, citing a UNM policy that gives four-year graduates a tuition break on their eighth and final semester.
“A six-year bachelor’s degree can cost twice as much as getting it done in four years,” Martinez said, adding that students getting off-track and not being able to contribute to the state economy is unfair to other students and New Mexico taxpayers.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“Let’s keep our students on track. We’re retooling the system to make that more possible,” she said.
“That means our students who need remediation are treated like college students, and take college level classes, so that they are more likely to complete the gateway course and continue on a path to completion,” Martinez said.
Alternative requisite remediation is a proven strategy, exemplified in states like Tennessee or Georgia, where “success rates jumped from 21 percent to 71 percent in English,” the governor said.
She said another initiative involves aligning the syllabuses of identical courses at universities statewide, in an effort to avoid unnecessary course repetition. Others involve common course numbering, a new state-organized internship portal, and meta-majors, which involve courses that can be applied to a handful of potential programs and degrees.
But none of these initiatives are bigger than “Route to 66,” the foundation for which Martinez says has already been laid.
“Why should 66 percent of New Mexicans want a certificate or degree?” Martinez asked. “To find a better job, build a stronger community, and provide for their families, that’s why.”
Johnny Vizcaino is a news reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thedailyjohnnyv.
