NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A new law that aims to help students better understand the cost of higher education goes into effect Friday, Jan 1. The Disclosure Requirements for Private Colleges Act, passed in the last legislative session, requires private colleges and universities to provide students with more information about the total cost to attend including the median amount of student debt and median earning of recent students.
The law also requires those institutions to post this information on their website and provide a record to the New Mexico Higher Education Department of how they are informing prospective students.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that students have all information at their fingertips to make informed decisions about their education and future,” Acting Higher Education Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez said in a news release Thursday. “Our priority is to ensure that all colleges and universities in New Mexico maintain high-quality programs that are adequate and effective to meet the needs of our students and our state.”
According to the same news release, nearly 10,000 students attended private colleges and universities in the state last year. Public colleges and universities are already required to share consumer information with students but no such requirement was in place, prior to the new law, for private postsecondary schools in New Mexico according to the same new release. For more information on higher education opportunities in New Mexico, visit hed.state.nm.us/.
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