Any institution established in accordance with Chapter 21, Article 14 or 16 NMSA 1978 that desires to become an independent institution pursuant to the Community College Act and to receive more than three hundred twenty-five dollars ($325) per full- time-equivalent student is subject to the following:

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A. approval of the institutional request for independent status by the commission on higher education [higher education department];

B. tuition rates shall be recommended by the commission on higher education [higher education department] and shall be set by the community college board;

C. the commission on higher education [higher education department] shall recommend an appropriation for the institution based upon expenditure levels determined by commission [department] formulas in relation to its authorized program and its available funds from nongeneral fund sources, and the recommended appropriation shall be an amount not less than three hundred twenty-five dollars ($325) for each full-time-equivalent student;

D. the minimum level of local support for operational purposes shall be a tax rate of two dollars ($2.00), or any lower amount required by the operation of the rate limitation provisions of Section 7-37-7.1 N.M. Stat. Ann. upon an amount of at least two dollars ($2.00) on each one thousand dollars ($1,000) of net taxable value, as that term is defined in the Property Tax Code [Chapter 7, Articles 35 to 38 NMSA 1978]; and

E. the community college board shall provide for the assumption of any outstanding indebtedness of the institution desiring to become independent by the voters of the community college district.