Enrollment starts Dec. 1 for prepaid tuition

Open enrollment begins Dec. 1 for Nevada’s prepaid tuition program, designed to let parents, grandparents or other family members pay for a child’s future college education at current rates.

Newborns to ninth graders are eligible for the program.

This year, Nevada residents who purchase a contract before Dec. 31 will be entered into a random drawing to win a year of free tuition for their beneficiary.

Enrollment continues through Feb. 28.

State Treasurer Kate Marshall, who sits on the board that oversees Nevada college savings plans, reported Wednesday that the prepaid tuition program is currently funded at about 112 percent. The board has a goal to reach a funded status of 120 percent to ensure the program’s long-term viability.