A510

An Act establishing a tuition aid grant pilot program for part-time students enrolled at a county college 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. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall provide for the establishment of a State tuition aid grant pilot program for part-time students enrolled at a county college. Under the pilot program, a State tuition aid grant shall be awarded annually to each eligible, qualified part-time student enrolled at a county college established pursuant to chapter 64A of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. Prior to receipt of a tuition aid grant under the pilot program, a student shall apply for all other forms of federal student assistance grants and scholarships. Student eligibility for a tuition aid grant shall be determined by the authority in accordance with the criteria established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:71B-20, other than the criterion for full-time enrollment.

b. Within the limits of available appropriations as determined by the authority, part-time grant awards shall be pro-rated against the full-time grant award for the applicable institutional sector established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:71B-21 as follows: an eligible student enrolled with six to eight credits shall receive one-half of the value of a full-time award; and an eligible student enrolled with nine to eleven credits shall receive three-quarters of the full-time award.

c. Under the pilot program, each program category of part-time tuition aid grants shall be separately made by line item.

2. Three years following the establishment of the part-time tuition aid grant pilot program pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of this act, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on the part-time tuition aid grant pilot program. The report shall include a recommendation on the establishment of a permanent part-time tuition aid grant program, the funding level for the program and sources of funding.

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the 2005-2006 academic year.

STATEMENT

This bill provides for the establishment by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority of a State tuition aid grant pilot program for part-time students enrolled at a county college. Under the pilot program, a State tuition aid grant would be awarded annually to each eligible, qualified part-time student enrolled at a county college. A student would be required to apply for all other forms of federal student assistance grants and scholarships prior to receipt of a tuition aid grant under the program. Student eligibility for a tuition aid grant would be determined by the authority according to the criteria established in the current law which provides tuition aid grants to full-time students, other than the criterion for full-time enrollment.

Within the limits of available appropriations as determined by the authority, part-time grant awards would be pro-rated against the full-time grant award for the applicable institutional sector as follows: an eligible student enrolled with six to eight credits would receive one-half of the value of a full-time award; and an eligible student enrolled with nine to eleven credits would receive three-quarters of the full-time award.

Each program category of part-time tuition aid grants would be separately made by line item.

Three years following the establishment of the program, the authority would be required to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature. The report would include a recommendation on the establishment of a permanent part-time tuition aid grant program, the funding level for the program and sources of funding.