A668

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN

District 20 (Union)

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN

District 19 (Middlesex)

Assemblyman JOSEPH A. LAGANA

District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblywoman CELESTE M. RILEY

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Pinkin

SYNOPSIS

Requires institutions of higher education to provide to prospective students certain cost, loan, and debt information in financial aid shopping sheet.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

An Act concerning certain college cost information and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. A four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall provide a financial aid “shopping sheet” to each prospective student as part of the school’s financial aid offer to that student. The purpose of the shopping sheet shall be to provide prospective students and their families with clear information on the costs, loan options, and estimated debt that the student will incur in attending the institution, and to allow students and families to easily evaluate and compare financial aid packages from different schools.

b. The Secretary of Higher Education shall prescribe a model format for the shopping sheet required by subsection a. of this section. Each four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall utilize the model format. The model shopping sheet prescribed by the secretary shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) the total cost for one year of attendance at the institution, including tuition, student fees, room and board, books and materials, and transportation and other personal expenses;

(2) the total amount per year of grants and scholarships awarded to that student, including any grants and scholarships from the institution, federal grants, State grants, or other scholarships;

(3) the total net amount the student will owe for one year of attendance at the institution, after taking into account any grants and scholarships;

(4) a comparison of the total net amount the student will owe for one year of attendance at the institution to: the average cost per year at that institution; the average cost per year at four-year public institutions of higher education; and the average cost per year at four-year independent institutions of higher education;

(5) the total amount per year of student loans and work study funds that the student is eligible for, broken down by federal student loans, federal work study funds, and private student loans;

(6) the total estimated amount the student will owe in student loan debt after graduating from the institution, broken down by federal loan debt and private loan debt;

(7) the total estimated monthly payment the student will owe on his student loans after graduation, broken down by monthly payment owed for federal loans and monthly payment owed for private loans;

(8) the percentage of students from the institution who defaulted on their student loans within the first three years of repayment;

(9) the percentage of students at the institution who graduate within six years, as compared to the average rate at other four-year public or independent institutions of higher education; and

(10) the percentage of non-graduating students who re-enroll at the institution the following year, as compared to the average rate at other four-year public or independent institutions of higher education.

c. The Secretary of Higher Education, in developing the model format for the shopping sheet, shall consider any sample or model formats for a financial aid shopping sheet developed by the United States Department of Education or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill would require four-year public and independent institutions of higher education to provide a financial aid “shopping sheet” to each prospective student as part of the school’s financial aid offer to that student. The bill directs the Secretary of Higher Education to prescribe a model format for the shopping sheet, which must be utilized by the institutions. The model shopping sheet prescribed by the secretary must include certain information concerning the costs and expected debt that the particular student can expect to incur in attending that school, such as total cost of attendance, the amount of scholarship and grant money awarded to the student, the loan options available to the student, and the estimated amount of the student’s debt and monthly loan payments after graduation. The shopping sheet also must include certain information concerning the school’s graduation rate, student retention rate, and student loan default rate.

The purpose of the bill is to provide students and their families with clear information on the costs, loan options, and estimated debt that the student will incur in attending the institution, and to allow students and families to easily evaluate and compare financial aid packages from different schools. President Obama has proposed the use of a financial aid shopping sheet to help students and families better understand and evaluate college costs and financial aid packages. The United States Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are working to develop a model format for post-secondary schools to use in conveying this information to prospective students. Under this bill, the Secretary of Higher Education, in creating the model shopping sheet, is directed to consider any sample or model formats for a financial aid shopping sheet developed by these federal agencies.