Encore: New Mexico has a generous free tuition program, but there are limits

Encore: New Mexico has a generous free tuition program, but there are limits

Transcript¹

New Mexico has one of the most generous 'free tuition' programs, but there are limits

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

New Mexico is the latest state to offer free tuition for higher education. Thirty-three states offer it in some form, and New Mexico’s program is among the most generous. But there are limits, as Alice Fordham with member station KUNM in Albuquerque reports.

ALICE FORDHAM, BYLINE²: The celebration when Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed free tuition into law included a mariachi band from Western New Mexico University.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM: New Mexico is the first state in the nation to have this as part of their education platform.

FORDHAM: It's part of a slew³ of measures designed to increase enrollment⁴ at universities and revitalize New Mexico's workforce⁵, which lacks skills. There's a severe shortage of professionals like teachers and nurses here. Lujan Grisham is part of a movement sometimes called College Promise. Eddy⁶ Conroy is an analyst⁷ at the New America Foundation who's advocated for free tuition.

EDDY CONROY: These guarantees come in a bunch of different forms. We're up to about 20 states that have some form of state-level program.

FORDHAM: In terms of the scope of who it covers and what it covers, New Mexico's initiative does go further than most.

CONROY: New Mexico's program is one of the most generous, if not the most generous, Promise program that we've seen instituted so far.

FORDHAM: But state lawmaker Larry R. Scott points out one big catch. The free tuition is only fully⁸ funded for one year.

LARRY R SCOTT: If we were looking for an effective program, that one-year commitment to the project was not really the appropriate course of action.

FORDHAM: The law Governor Lujan Grisham signed means most of the $75 million funding free tuition comes from federal pandemic relief.

SCOTT: If we're going to do this, we probably should have committed at least a few years of resources to it to see how efficient the program was and whether it was going to be effective.

FORDHAM: The expectation is that the scholarship will be renewed next year. An oil and gas boom here means the state will end this year with a projected $2.5 billion surplus. But Scott says oil and gas busts⁹ happen, too.

SCOTT: We've gone from being flush with money to not having enough to fund K-12 education.

FORDHAM: Just five years ago, New Mexico had to dip into education funding to balance the state budget. But even a year's free tuition means a lot to someone like Itzayana Banda. She couldn't afford to stay in school even when her favorite teacher tried to encourage her.

ITZAYANA BANDA: But no, it got to the point where I was like, no, I need to stop. It's either, like, I have money for rent, for gas, for other things, or it's I finish my education.

FORDHAM: Banda now has another option and clearly misses studying to be a teacher at Central New Mexico Community College.

BANDA: My favorite class - it was math for teachers. And they would show us there how we could show the students how to count, how to capture their attention.

FORDHAM: New Mexico residents can apply the tuition assistance to the cost of bachelor's degrees, vocational certificates and other qualifications. Emily Wildau, an analyst for New Mexico Voices for Children, says publicly funded tuition pays dividends¹⁰ long-term.

EMILY WILDAU: Because as it trains more and more people, that's an investment in our economy so we have a better-educated workforce. And that will help us attract new industries and create better-paying jobs.

FORDHAM: If oil and gas do end up funding free tuition longer-term in New Mexico, Wildau hopes the result will be a workforce that's less dependent on a single industry for prosperity.

For NPR News, I'm Alice Fordham in Santa Fe.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

4 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

6 eddy   

n.漩涡，涡流

参考例句：

• The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。
• In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 busts   

半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 )； 妇女的胸部； 胸围； 突击搜捕

参考例句：

• Dey bags swells up and busts. 那奶袋快胀破了。
• Marble busts all looked like a cemetery. 大理石的半身象，简直就象是坟山。

10 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。