Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires tuition aid grant amounts to be equal for students enrolled in independent institutions of higher education and students enrolled in four-year public institutions of higher education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning tuition aid grants and supplementing chapter 71B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Tuition Aid Grant award table adopted annually by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall provide that the tuition aid grant award values, which students attending State colleges and universities and public research universities on a full-time basis are entitled to receive based upon their financial need, are equal to the tuition aid grant award values that students attending independent institutions of higher education on a full-time basis are entitled to receive based upon their financial need, except that the tuition aid grant shall not exceed the actual cost of tuition at the four-year public institution.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that the tuition aid grants awarded to students enrolled in four-year public institutions of higher education will be equal to the tuition aid grants awarded to students enrolled in independent institutions of higher education. The bill stipulates that the tuition aid grant may not exceed the actual cost of tuition at the four-year public institution of higher education.
The tuition aid grant program is New Jersey’s largest need-based student financial aid program. It is estimated that in the 2025-2026 academic year, approximately 65,000 to 70,000 tuition aid grants will be awarded to students enrolled in public and independent institutions of higher education. Currently, tuition aid grant award values for students with similar financial need vary based on the institutional sector in which the student is enrolled. The award values for students attending State colleges and universities and public research universities are generally lower than those for students attending independent institutions of higher education. This bill will address the existing inequity by ensuring that students with similar financial need receive equal tuition aid grant awards regardless of the four-year institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled.