A. There is created in the state treasury the "Vietnam veterans' scholarship fund". The fund shall consist of all money appropriated to the fund and any grants, gifts and bequests made to the fund. Any money in the fund that was the result of grants, gifts or bequests shall not revert to the general fund at the end of any fiscal year.

B. The commission [department] shall administer the fund and shall make disbursements from the fund to reimburse educational institutions under the exclusive control of the state for any tuition payments, required student fees and book allowances and to non-state colleges in New Mexico an amount equal to the highest tuition, required student fees and book allowances at a state institution for Vietnam veterans who are residents of New Mexico and are undergraduate post-secondary students, including students who have already received a baccalaureate degree or post-secondary students enrolled in a program of study leading to a master's degree attending educational institutions pursuant to Article 9, Section 14 of the constitution of New Mexico and are in compliance with the institution's satisfactory academic progress requirements. The commission [department] may adopt rules, regulations and procedures as necessary or appropriate to implement the provisions of the act. A financial aid officer may exercise professional judgment when special circumstances exist to adjust cost of attendance or expected family contribution or to modify other factors that make the program responsive to a student's special financial circumstances and for which documentation exists in the student's file within the parameters authorized for this program.

History: Laws 1985, ch. 171, § 1; 1989, ch. 167, § 1; 1991, ch. 262, § 5.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

For designation of the commission on higher education as the higher education department, see 9-25-4.1 NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For the general fund, see 6-4-2 NMSA 1978.

The 1991 amendment, effective June 14, 1991, rewrote the first sentence and added the final two sentences in Subsection B and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection A.

Eligibility. — An individual who was a minor temporarily living outside the state at the time of entry into the armed forces in California was not eligible for a Vietnam veterans' scholarship. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-76.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 15A Am. Jur. 2d Colleges and Universities §§ 19, 32 to 34; 63A Am. Jur. 2d Public Funds §§ 56 to 58, 67.

14A C.J.S. Colleges and Universities §§ 7, 31, 33; 81A States §§ 205, 211.