The New Mexico Higher Education Department recently announced that the state’s Lottery Scholarship will now offer 100% tuition assistance to all qualifying students.

The Lottery Scholarship previously paid full base tuition for students, but in 2015, that amount was decreased to 60% to 75% of costs, according to the University of New Mexico (UNM). 

Funding for the scholarship program has been bolstered by increased revenue from lottery-ticket sales and a significant budget appropriation. The program will receive $63.5 million for the fiscal year 2022, an increase of more than 30% compared to last year’s funding of $43 million, according to UNM.

"Wonderful news! The NM Legislative Lottery Scholarship will cover 100% of tuition for eligible students at all public and tribal colleges and universities," New Mexico State Sen. Katy Duhigg (D-Albuquerque) wrote in a June 8 Twitter post.

To qualify for the lottery scholarship, a student must start college within 16 months of graduating high school, achieve a 2.5 GPA their first semester in college, attend full time and be enrolled in a public or tribal college or university in New Mexico, according to UNM.

The program was established in 1996 and has awarded more than 130,000 scholarships, according to the New Mexico Lottery.