What are the best colleges and universities in New Mexico if you reward schools for making the best use of their limited resources? Academic Stewardship asks how effectively schools manage their financial and human resources to gain the influence that makes them academically excellent. Schools that are exemplary in Academic Stewardship are doing everything in their power to help students and faculty achieve their full potential.
Colleges and universities in New Mexico deserve to be recognized when they do more with less. It’s impressive when a large wealthy school can spend money lavishly on expensive buildings and programs. But it’s even more impressive when a small school with limited means is able to train and inspire students that the larger wealthier schools tend to ignore.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities reported in late 2021 that almost 75 percent of higher-education professionals at US colleges and universities felt financial constraints prevented their schools from effectively attracting students. Distracted by the size and amenities of larger schools, prospective students tended especially to be overawed by the big research universities.
New Mexico’s smaller colleges, especially its liberal arts colleges, need effective ways of communicating their value to a world that celebrates “bigger is better” and “you need the best.” Unfortunately, most college ranking companies, such as U.S. News & World Report, define “best” in a way that devalues schools with smaller budgets and fewer students even when these schools do remarkable work in advancing their students’ education. By and large, college rankings penalize schools that serve underserved populations.
Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell, who for years now has criticized conventional college rankings for misrepresenting what’s good and valuable in education, we decided to construct a new ranking metric that highlights those schools that do more with less. That metric—called the Academic Stewardship metric—takes away both the size and the wealth advantage of schools, and focuses instead on how well schools use the resources available to them to advance the education of their students.
As a metric, Academic Stewardship is defined by a precise mathematical formula, which can be found in our Academic Stewardship white paper. Measuring the Academic Stewardship of New Mexico’s colleges requires measuring two forms of stewardship: 1) Stewardship of financial resources (using the money they have responsibility without waste) and 2) Stewardship of human resources (doing their best to help students, faculty, and administration to flourish). Together, these two types of stewardship form what we call Academic Stewardship. If you want to learn more about the factors involved in Academic Stewardship, click the more button below.
Academic Stewardship as so defined is connected to keeping tuition and other costs down, but it should not be confused with affordability or frugality. The schools that this metric ranks as exemplary academic stewards tend to be all over the map when it comes to tuition and other costs. At issue is the influence of schools given the financial and human resources they have on hand. If a school is going to charge more for tuition, then that needs to be reflected in the school having proportionately greater influence.
The benefits of attending a school with strong academic stewardship include:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
54%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1275/26
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
29%
Student body
2K
New Mexico Highlands University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
36%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/19
Eastern New Mexico University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
51%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1050/20
New Mexico State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
54%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/22
University of New Mexico’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
45%
Graduation
26%
Student body
<1K
University of the Southwest’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
28%
Student body
2K
Western New Mexico University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
31%
Student body
<1K
Northern New Mexico College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
New Mexico has 23 higher learning establishments to choose from, and a tuition range of $1,000-$8,000 in the public sphere makes this state one of the most affordable in the nation. The University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque, has a student population just over 20,000 and an affordable cost of $8,000. The school is known for its health sciences and business programs.
New Mexico also has four tribal colleges and universities, including the largest tribal college in the country, Navajo Technical University. Students can complete programs in animal science, early childhood multicultural education, and industrial engineering. In addition, New Mexico provides two loan forgiveness programs, one for health professionals and one for public service attorneys. Those working in designated shortage areas can qualify for up to $25,000 per year, and attorneys providing service for government, non-profit, or underserved residents may acquire $7,200 per year.
Pueblos, roadrunners, cacti, and the Rio Grande make New Mexico one of the most unique states in the nation. Though its alleged history of UFO sightings is perhaps its most famous draw, New Mexico has another fascinating monument worth mentioning - Capulin Volcano. The peak of this extinct cider cone volcano, which can be reached by car, offers visitors a view of four other states. Students looking to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in The Land of Enchantment are sure to find interesting activities to do alongside their studies.
Prepare to be enchanted by the higher education options and career prospects that New Mexico has to offer.