Highlands University

New Mexico Highlands University

Motto	Artes, Scientiae, Humanitates
Type	Public
Established	1893
President	Sam Minner
Students	3,765
Location	Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Purple and White
Nickname	Cowboys and Cowgirls
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division II – Rocky Mountain
Website	www.nmhu.edu

New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) is a public university located in Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States.

The university was first established as New Mexico Normal School in 1893, with the prominent archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett serving as its first president. The institution became New Mexico Normal University in 1902, and then New Mexico Highlands University in 1941, as it expanded its role beyond teacher education. Today, NMHU offers graduate and undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, education, and social work.

Located in Las Vegas, a city with a population of about 16,000, Highlands' main campus is close to recreational and wilderness areas, and is within an hour's drive of Santa Fe and two hours from Albuquerque.

The majority of the school's approximately 3,765 students are from New Mexico and are Latino. Highlands' programs focus on its multi-ethnic student body, especially the Latino and American Indian cultures distinctive of New Mexico.

NMHU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and also has specialty accreditations. The School of Education received full accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in 2012. The School of Business is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). The School of Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The School of Social and Behavioral Sciences is accredited by the Master's in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC).

There are over 50 student organizations at NMHU.

Student government at New Mexico Highlands University is composed of three branches: executive, legislative (senate), and judicial. Student senate is represented by undergraduate students in addition to individual graduate student representatives from their respective colleges and schools of the university. Each undergraduate senator is responsible for representing 100 students. The dean of students serves as the advisor to student government. Elections for student government take place in the Spring of each academic year. Executives (president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer) and senators are elected by the entire student body. The president pro-tempore serves as the majority floor leader and is elected from within the ranks of the senate to the position each year. The parliamentarian is appointed by the president at the first student senate meeting of the academic year.