Online college classes have increased in New Mexico, report shows
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – During the COVID-19 pandemic, education largely switched to online classes. Since then, New Mexico’s higher education institutions have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels of in-person classes.
Online higher education in New Mexico peaked in 2020, according to a new report from the Legislative Finance Committee. The latest available data from the 2022–2023 school year shows that 45% of college credit hours were taken online, a 34% increase in online learning since the pre-pandemic level.
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Despite the reliance on online classes, the Legislative Finance Committee reports that New Mexico colleges and universities “are missing the opportunity to use online education” to reach a key demographic of students – adult learners.
New Mexico has recently focused on bringing more college opportunities to adult learners. The state put millions of dollars towards the effort via the Opportunity Scholarship, which provides funds for New Mexicans who took a gap after high school to go to college.
“Higher education institutions are missing opportunities for increased enrollment and efficiencies through online education,” Clayton Lobaugh, an evaluator for the Legislative Finance Committee, told lawmakers in a meeting on Thursday. “State colleges are well positioned to reach New Mexico’s roughly 120,000 adults who have some college, but no credentials.”
The data suggests that many New Mexicans are interested in online classes. “Over 11,000 New Mexico residents are enrolled in out-of-state online colleges, suggesting New Mexico colleges are being out-competed in the online education market,” Lobaugh said. “This results in an estimated loss of $58 million per year in tuition revenue to New Mexico Higher Education Institutions.”
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Map from Legislative Finance Report shows where New Mexicans are enrolled in out-of-state online programs.
So why doesn’t New Mexico take advantage of the opportunity to expand its online education offerings? Stephanie Rodriguez, the secretary of the Higher Education Department, points to the administrative structure at schools as a potential barrier.
“We are all familiar of the fact that there’s a structure of governance at all of our higher education institutions in the State of New Mexico [in] which each and every college and university has its own governing board…These boards, in addition to administrators, have the discretion to set new policies, including policies surrounding instruction type, dropping of course sections, course sharing agreements, and joint price agreements,” Rodriguez said.
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In other words, it’s difficult for state leaders to simply and quickly mandate more online courses. Lawmakers also noted that out-of-state colleges spend money to advertise and attract New Mexico students and that competing against that could incur costs for New Mexico schools. Additionally, Secretary Rodriguez pointed out that accreditation requirements might differ for those out-of-state programs, meaning some students might be able to complete out-of-state programs faster than they could complete in-state programs.
Another aspect under consideration is the overall financial structure of higher education in New Mexico. “There’s absolutely a conversation that’s happening right now in [the] capitol. That’s right-sizing, and we’re doing that at the Higher Education Department,” Rodriguez told KRQE. “We need institutions and regents, and other governing boards to do their part and make a promise to not increase tuition exponentially that we drain state resources and put that price tag on the backs of students.”
The Higher Education Department is currently working on a study about how higher education is financed in New Mexico. The results of that survey could impact overall sustainability and course offerings at local schools.
