Definitions.

As used in the Legislative Lottery Tuition Scholarship Act: A. "community college" means a branch community college of a four-year state educational institution, a two-year state educational institution or a community college or technical and vocational institute established pursuant to Chapter 21, Article 13 or 16 NMSA 1978, respectively; B. "comprehensive institution" means eastern New Mexico university, western New Mexico university, New Mexico highlands university or northern New Mexico college; C. "department" means the higher education department; D. "full time" means thirty or more credit hours each year in state educational institutions and twenty-four or more credit hours each year in community colleges; E. "fund" means the lottery tuition fund; F. "program semesters" means those semesters for which a qualified student may receive a tuition scholarship, which includes the summer semester and excludes the first semester of attendance at a public post-secondary educational institution; G. "public post-secondary educational institution" means a four-year state educational institution or a community college; H. "qualified student" means a full-time student who graduated from a public or accredited private New Mexico high school or completed the requirements of a home- based or nonpublic secondary educational program in New Mexico or received a high school equivalency credential while maintaining residency in New Mexico and who: (1) either: (a) within sixteen months of graduation from or completion of a secondary educational program specified in this subsection, attends a public post-secondary educational institution or tribal college; or (b) within four months of graduation from or completion of a secondary educational program specified in this subsection, began service in the United States armed forces and within sixteen months of completion of honorable service or medical discharge from the service, attends a public post-secondary educational institution or tribal college; and (2) successfully completed the first semester at a public post-secondary educational institution with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the first semester and took twelve or more credit hours; I. "research institution" means the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university or New Mexico institute of mining and technology; J. "state educational institution" means an institution of higher education enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico; K. "tribal college" means a tribally, federally or congressionally chartered post- secondary educational institution located in New Mexico that is accredited by the higher learning commission; and L. "tuition scholarship" means the scholarship that provides tuition assistance per program semester for a qualified student attending a public post-secondary educational institution or tribal college.