Bill Text: NJ A5979 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Community College Opportunity Grant Program in Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to provide last-dollar financial aid grants to county college students and Student Success Incentive funding to county colleges.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-11-18 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee [A5979 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A5979-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Community College Opportunity Grant Program in Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to provide last-dollar financial aid grants to county college students and Student Success Incentive funding to county colleges.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning financial aid for county college students 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. As used in this act:
"Annual adjusted gross income" means:
a. for a dependent student, the annual adjusted gross income of the student's parent or legal guardian, as reported on the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid or other financial aid form; and
b. for an independent student, the annual adjusted gross income of the student and, if applicable, the spouse of the student, as reported on the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid or other financial aid form.
"Approved educational fees" means general education fees, registration fees, facility fees, technology fees, laboratory fees, student service and activity fees, and program and course fees, including fees associated with coursework in nursing, culinary, and other career and technical education programs as determined by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority in consultation with the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
"Authority" means the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:71A-3.
"Home county college" means the county college that serves a student's county of residence.
"Out-of-county college" means a county college that is outside of a student's county of residence.
"Program" means the Community College Opportunity Grant Program created pursuant to section 2 of this act.
"Three plus one degree program" means a baccalaureate degree program created pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2018, c.144 (C.18A:3B-78).
2. There is hereby created
the Community College Opportunity Grant Program. The purpose of the program
shall be to provide financial aid grants to eligible county college students,
to cover the costs of tuition and approved educational fees that are not already
covered by any other State, federal, and institutional need-based grants or
merit scholarships and to provide county colleges with Student Success
Incentive funding for outreach and student success initiatives. The financial
aid grants distributed to eligible students under the program shall be
administered by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, while the Student
Success Incentive funding distributed to county colleges under the program
shall be administered by the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
3. a. To be eligible to receive a financial aid grant under the
Community College Opportunity Grant Program, a student shall:
(1) be a legal resident of the State in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.18A:71B-2 or be eligible for student financial aid pursuant to P.L.2018, c.12 (C.18A:71B-2.1);
(2) be enrolled in at least six credits at a county college established pursuant to chapter 64A of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes;
(3) be enrolled at the county college that serves the student's county of residence, except that a student may receive a grant under the program to cover the remaining costs of tuition and approved educational fees, charged at the in-district rate for the home county college, to attend a county college outside of the county of residence upon approval of the home county college if:
(a) the student resides in close proximity to the out-of-county college;
(b) the student is employed in a county served by the out-of-county college;
(c) the home county college does not offer the coursework or program of study that the student chooses to pursue; or
(d) the home county college is not able to admit the student into a desired program of study due to lack of available space.
(4) not have an annual adjusted gross income that is negative;
(5) have an annual adjusted gross income between $0 and $65,000, except that the authority, in consultation with the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, may annually establish maximum annual adjusted gross income eligibility limits of no less than $65,000;
(6) have applied for all other available forms of State, federal, and institutional need-based grants and merit scholarships and, in accordance with annually established deadline dates, have completed and submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, other financial aid form, or, as applicable, a State financial aid form as required by the authority pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.2018, c.12 (C.18A:71B-2.1);
(7) not owe a refund on a grant or scholarship previously received from a State or federal program through any institution or be in default on any loan made under any State or federal student loan program at any institution, unless the student makes arrangements with the authority to repay the debt; and
(8) be in good academic standing and meet the minimum standards for academic performance and satisfactory academic progress as defined by the county college which the student is attending.
A county college shall not impose additional eligibility requirements for the program, other than the requirements set forth in this subsection.
b. A grant under the program
may be renewed for a student who:
(1) annually completes and submits a Free Application for Federal Student
Aid, other financial aid form, or, as applicable, a State financial aid form as
required by the authority pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.2018,
c.12 (C.18A:71B-2.1);
(2) meets the standards for academic performance and satisfactory academic progress, as defined by the county college which the student is attending, to determine eligibility for federal student aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 or, in the semester immediately prior to receiving an award, attains a minimum level of academic success as determined by the authority; and
(3) maintains all eligibility requirements established pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
c. (1) A student shall be eligible for a grant under the program for up to five semesters, unless the student is enrolled in a program regularly requiring at least six semesters for completion, in which case the authority shall permit up to six semesters of eligibility.
(2) A student enrolled in a three plus one degree program shall be eligible for a grant under the program for up to six semesters.
(3) Semesters for which a student is enrolled in at least six credits but less than 12 credits shall be counted as one-half of a full-time semester.
d. A student may be eligible for a grant under the program during a fall, spring, or summer semester in an academic year.
e. If a student, the student's family, or a county college deems that the authority made an unfair determination of eligibility, an appeal may be filed with the authority within 60 days of initial notification of eligibility or ineligibility.
f. The county college which a student attends shall notify the student of the student's eligibility for the program and the amount of the grant.
4. a. A grant distributed to an eligible student under the Community College Opportunity Grant Program shall cover the remaining cost of tuition and approved educational fees, which is not covered by State, federal, or any other need-based grant or merit scholarship, for up to 18 credits in any semester. The full amount of State, federal, and institutional need-based grant or merit scholarships received by an eligible student shall be applied to the amount of tuition and approved educational fees charged to an eligible student. The remaining balance of tuition and approved educational fees shall be covered by a grant under the program.
b. A full award under the
program to a student at a county college shall be equal to the student's full
cost of approved tuition and approved educational fees, subject to the prior
application of all other State, federal, and institutional need-based grants
and merit scholarships against those costs, for up to 18 credits in any
semester, for an eligible student for a full-time semester in an
associate's degree, certificate, or three plus one degree program. For an eligible
student enrolled in at least six credits but less than 12 credits in an
associate's degree, certificate, or three plus one degree program, a grant
under the program shall be pro-rated from the full-time approved tuition and
approved educational fees based on the number of credits for which that student
is enrolled.
c. The authority shall, for each county college, annually establish a maximum individual grant amount awarded under the program. The maximum individual grant amount for each county college shall not increase by more than three percent over the prior year.
5. a. The Legislature shall annually appropriate to the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education no less than $5,000,000 for Student Success Incentive funding to provide capacity-building grants to each county college to support the goals of the Community College Opportunity Grant Program. The Secretary of Higher Education shall distribute funding made available pursuant to this section to county colleges for outreach, recruitment, and promoting the success of county college students. The secretary shall establish the purposes for which a county college may use a grant received pursuant to this section, which shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) establishing mentorship programs;
(2) hosting events to assist students and families in completing financial aid applications; and
(3) addressing students' material hardships, such as lack of access to food, medical care, housing, child care, and transportation.
b. The secretary shall distribute the funding made available pursuant to this section. Fifty percent of the appropriation shall be distributed equally among all of the county colleges, while the remaining fifty percent of the appropriation shall be distributed based on the total number of students at each county college who received awards under the program during the previous academic year.
6. The authority shall adopt in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of sections 1 through 4 of this act. The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education shall adopt in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of section 5 of this act.
7. This act shall take effect
immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the
date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Community College Opportunity Grant (CCOG) Program, which is to be administered by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. The purpose of the program is to provide last-dollar grants to eligible county college students, to pay for the remaining costs of tuition and approved educational fees that are not already covered by any other State, federal, and institutional need-based grants and merit scholarships for which a grant recipient is eligible. The program would also provide county colleges with Student Success Incentive funding for outreach and student success initiatives.
To be eligible for grants under the CCOG program, a student is required to: be a legal resident of the State or, for undocumented students, be eligible for student financial aid pursuant to P.L.2018, c.12 (C.18A:71B-2.1); be enrolled in at least six credits at a county college in the State; be enrolled at the county college that serves the student's county of residence, except in certain cases in which a student may attend an out-of-county institution; have an annual adjusted gross income between $0 and $65,000, except that the authority, in consultation with the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, may annually establish maximum annual adjusted gross income eligibility limits of no less than $65,000; have applied for all other available forms of State, federal, and institutional need-based grants and merit scholarships and completed and submitted a financial aid form; not owe a refund on a grant or scholarship previously received from a State or federal program through any institution or be in default on any loan made under any State or federal student loan program at any institution, unless the student makes arrangements with the authority to repay the debt; and be in good academic standing and meet the minimum standards for academic performance and satisfactory academic progress as defined by the county college which the student is attending.
A student will be eligible for a grant under the program for up to five semesters, unless the student is enrolled in a program regularly requiring at least six semesters for completion, in which case the authority will permit up to six semesters of eligibility. A student enrolled in a three plus one degree program will be eligible for a grant under the program for up to six semesters.
The bill also directs the Legislature to annually appropriate to the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) a minimum of $5 million to provide Student Success Incentive funding to each county college for outreach and student success initiatives and to support the goals of the Community College Opportunity Grant Program. The funding may be used to fund initiatives, such as establishing mentorship programs; hosting events to assist students and families in completing financial aid applications; and addressing students' material hardships, such as lack of access to food, medical care, housing, child care, and transportation.
