FORT COLLINS Colo.
At least 10 undocumented students from Colorado
will get to attend classes at the University
of New Mexico this fall, with many
not having to pay for tuition or books.
A new Colorado law prohibits state colleges from providing
in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.
In New Mexico, the state is barred from denying education
benefits based on immigration status, said Terry Babbitt, director of
admissions for the University of New Mexico.
While New Mexico’s state financial aid is intended for
residents, Poudre High School counselor Isabel Thacker in Colorado found a way
for her students to receive in-state tuition, plus scholarships to cover it.
“Students can enroll for up to six credit hours and get
the in-state rate (at UNM),” said Alex
Gonzalez, associate director of the scholarship office at UNM.
“They can then go across the street to Central
New Mexico Community College
and enroll for another six hours and continue to pay the UNM
in-state tuition rate. They then are counted as full-time UNM
students.”
A full year of tuition at UNM,
or 12 credit hours per semester, costs $4,570.80, Gonzalez said. An
institutional scholarship available to undocumented students covers $5,000 of
their tuition and book expenses, meaning the students’ costs for attending
college would be minimal.
