GOV. TO EXTEND SCHOLARSHIPS

Gov. Bill Richardson presented his plan to expand the Lottery Success
Scholarship to the UNM community on Thursday afternoon.

Under his plan to revamp the lottery scholarship, students would get a
flat dollar amount rather than have tuition paid directly. The money
would be deposited into an account under the student's name at his or
her university.

Richardson said this initiative, one of five proposed changes to the
lottery scholarship, would make families eligible for federal tuition
tax credits.

"That will keep up to $6 million in New Mexico that our families won't
have to pay in federal taxes," Richardson said.

Associated Students of UNM President Kevin Stevenson said the flat-fee
proposal could help keep tuition costs down, but added students should
be wary of the plan.

"I would hate for our tuition to go up more than that flat fee,"
Stevenson said.

While he said he welcomed Richardson's ideas on expanding the lottery
scholarship to more students, he said if tuition continues to
increase, more scholarships will need to be awarded.

"The biggest thing that scares us is that the lottery will be
overdrawn," Stevenson said.

He said while ASUNM has not set its lobbying agenda, its No. 1
priority is the promotion of no tuition credit.

A tuition credit is the amount the Legislature expects UNM to increase
its tuition by and builds into the University's budget.

During his presentation, the governor took questions from the
audience.

Gabrielle Guzzardo of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy asked
Richardson about a federal law that denies financial aid to students
with drug convictions. Because lottery scholarship applicants are
required to fill out the federal paperwork, they are denied the
lottery scholarship as well as federal aid, she said.

"I didn't know that," Richardson said. "We have to look into
that."

Guzzado said she was pleased with the governor's response. She said
she knew it was a federal law - and therefore out of Richardson's
control - but wanted him to know it affects the lottery scholarship.

She said she spoke with Leticia Chambers, the executive director of
the Commission on Higher Education, after Richardson's presentation.
She said Chambers told her she wanted to work with her to make sure
people with drug convictions would be eligible for state financial
aid, Guzzado said.

Richardson proposed four other changes to the lottery
scholarship:

* Eligibility for students who earn an associate degree with a 2.5 GPA
and then enroll in a four-year college.

* A wait-out period of up to two years between high school graduation
and college enrollment.

* Eligibility for American-Indian students who attend an accredited
New Mexico tribal college.

* A second chance for students who fail to earn the scholarship in the
first semester but raise their cumulative GPA to 2.5 the next semester.

The governor also suggested a new scholarship aimed at nontraditional
students. He proposed setting aside funds from the state's reserves to
create a trust fund for returning students who can't afford college.