Wednesday, October 3, 2007

New Mexico & Colorado Work Together on In-State Tuition

NM: 9 Immigrants Are Paying In-State Tuition at UNM
Albuquerque Journal, September 27, 2007
By Martin Salazar

The University of New Mexico has determined that the number of undocumented immigrants from Colorado attending this fall and paying in-state tuition is nine.

The students are attending UNM through a reciprocal agreement with Colorado. The agreement allows 100 Colorado students a year to pay New Mexico in-state tuition, and vice versa.

UNM spokeswoman Karen Wentworth said she doesn't think any of the Colorado students is receiving a UNM scholarship. She said a couple of undocumented students received competitive academic scholarships last year.

The issue arose in July after The Associated Press reported that an unknown number of undocumented students from Poudre High School in Fort Collins would attend UNM and pay in-state tuition.

A new Colorado law prohibits state colleges there from providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants, even if they graduated from a Colorado high school.

That isn't the case in New Mexico. A 2005 state law prohibits educational institutions from discriminating against undocumented students.

That law makes undocumented students in New Mexico eligible for instate tuition rates and state financial aid if they attended a secondary school in New Mexico for at least one year, graduated from a New Mexico high school or received a general education development certificate in the state.

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