Online Degrees In New Mexico (NM)

Students in New Mexico should take the Route-to-66. No, not the famous highway that gives tourists their “kicks.” It’s the state’s initiative to improve the rate of college attainment and meet the increasing educational demands of its workforce. Currently, only 45 percent of residents have college credentials, but it’s estimated that at least two-thirds of new jobs in the state will require them. The state has set a goal to have 66 percent of New Mexicans ages 25-64 earn higher education credentials by 2030.

Not only does a college credential tend to improve your employment prospects, but individuals with higher levels of educational attainment statistically have lower unemployment rates and higher wages than those with only high school diplomas.

Despite these statistics, college enrollment in New Mexico overall has remained stagnant. While the reasons for this aren’t completely clear, experts have suggested rising costs, lack of student support and retention activities and the need for students to work while attending school as possible factors.

All of these issues and more could potentially be addressed by enrolling in online degrees in New Mexico. Because online courses frequently have few real-time requirements, your studies can usually be completed at any time that’s convenient to you, so you can still work and attend classes. Students often save money by not having to drive to or park on campus, and they don’t usually have to pay the fees associated with traditional courses. And many online degree programs in New Mexico are strengthening their student support efforts by offering such resources as online tutoring or counseling, to ensure you have the help you need to be successful.

10 Best Online Colleges in New Mexico

Using information from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), including number of online programs, tuition rates and student support services, we’ve developed this list of the top 10 New Mexico colleges that offer online degree programs.

Top Online Degree Programs in New Mexico

We’ve drawn data from the NCES about the number of available online programs in the state to formulate this list of the top online degree programs in New Mexico. Recent high school graduates, returning adult students and career changers may find this a useful indicator of the state’s most in-demand fields. Remember that online programs may be offered fully or only partially online.

Quality of Online Education in New Mexico

When you’re assessing the quality of an online education in New Mexico, check first whether or not the school is accredited. Accreditation is a gauge of how well the program meets a set of quality standards, as determined by an authoritative third party, and you cannot receive federal student aid or tuition reimbursement without it. Accrediting bodies such as the Higher Learning Commission have a rigorous standard for quality established for online learning, and schools such as Central New Mexico Community College (CNMCC) develop their programs in accordance with these guidelines.

Also, 21 postsecondary institutions in the state are approved members of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). SARA is an agreement among member institutions in the state to allow students to complete online courses across state lines with other member schools, while all adhere to a baseline level of quality.

Look for individual schools’ efforts to address quality as well. For example, CNMCC is a member of the Online Learning Consortium, a leading professional organization dedicated to advancing quality online instruction by providing professional development, best practice publications, guidance for teachers and more. And the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University voluntarily undergo a rigorous peer-review process by Quality Matters, an organization that maintains a recognized rubric for best practices in online education.

What to Look for in Online Degree Programs in New Mexico

Once you’re assured of any prospective program’s accreditation, you should consider a few other factors as well to find the right program for you.

According to the Mission: Graduate initiative in New Mexico to attract, retain and graduate more college students in the state, the top three impediments to students’ successful graduation from college are time, money and information. To address these issues and increase your probability of success, consider these factors:

Time: How much time is involved in your courses on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? Are you required to participate in any real-time activities (such as in-class meetings, conference calls, on-campus labs), and can this fit into your existing schedule? Are there resources at the school to assist you with time management?

Money: Can the program cost be prohibitive for you? Look at what financial aid options are available for you, and assess whether the cost of your prospective program seems reasonable to you. And if you absolutely must work full time to afford school, be sure the program can be done simultaneously with your existing work schedule.

Information: Talk to admissions officers, financial aid advisors, faculty members and former students about the student experience. Find out about what resources are available to help support your studies, including tutoring, writing help, advisement, mentorship, counseling, tech support or career planning. The more engaged you are in your school and knowledgeable about what to expect, the more successful you are likely to be.

Top Occupations in New Mexico

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these jobs are growing rapidly in New Mexico. This information may be helpful for deciding which field or program to study in an online program.

Top Metropolitan Areas in New Mexico

Thirty-eight of the state’s 49 postsecondary institutions are located in urban or suburban settings, in or around the state’s major metropolitan areas. These areas also are where the bulk of job and economic growth are taking place. Its high number of research universities and labs is driving innovation and creating new opportunities for those with college credentials.

Tourism continues to be a major economic sector, and leisure and hospitality saw the most job growth in 2018.

Here are the industries in demand in New Mexico’s major metropolitan areas:

Santa Fe: In the capital city of the northern part of the state, leisure and hospitality led job growth, thanks to the city’s historic and artistic attractions remaining a draw for tourists. Education and health services have also grown recently, as have information, manufacturing and construction.

Albuquerque: Also considered the Central Region, this metropolitan statistical area contains about 44 percent of New Mexico’s population. The sector seeing the greatest job growth in Albuquerque in 2018 was trade, transportation and utilities, followed by leisure and hospitality, construction, financial activities and manufacturing.

Las Cruces: Job growth has been somewhat slower in this Southwestern region city, due in part to a slowdown in the area’s oil production. The biggest job gains in 2018 were in education and health services, followed by manufacturing.

Farmington: Situated at the junction of three major highways — U.S. Highway 550, U.S. Highway 64 and New Mexico Highway 371 — near the Four Corners region of four states, Farmington is an important hub for commerce and an important energy-producing area. Coal-production plants in this area have shuttered, but natural gas remains important in the area. And city leaders are working to diversify the area away from energy and toward tourism, agriculture, light manufacturing, food processing and alternative energy businesses.

Scholarships and Financial Aid in New Mexico

Because money has been considered one of the most important factors in students enrolling in, persisting in and graduating from colleges, the New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation (NMEAF) helps students in the state plan, prepare and pay for college. Its work includes helping students find financial aid and save on student loan repayments, counseling about financial options and assisting with college applications and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the required first step in securing federal student aid. Through the NMEAF web portal, you can access dozens of individual school grants and scholarships or national award programs.

The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) also offers two financial aid awards:

New Mexico Lottery Scholarships: This program helps offset tuition for New Mexico’s high school graduates who want to attend the state’s public colleges or universities. The amount is set annually by the NMHED, depending on lottery earnings, and can only be applied to tuition (not fees or books, etc.).

Student Incentive Grant: This grant for state residents of between $200 and $2,500 per year goes to undergraduates with substantial financial need who are attending New Mexico public colleges, universities or tribal colleges at least half time.

Scholarship Listing

Tests You May Need to Take

As you plan to apply to online degree programs in New Mexico, you should expect to be asked to submit SAT or ACT exam scores with your admissions packages. Typically, schools will accept either — for example, NMSU, the University of New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico University will take one or the other. Still others, such as Clovis Community College, have open admissions policies and don’t require test scores at all for admission. Check with your prospective school to learn what its individual requirements are.