New Jersey-2010-S2364-Introduced

An Act establishing the Senator Peter A. Inverso Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program 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. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Senator Peter A. Inverso Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program Act."

2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. During his five terms in the New Jersey Legislature Senator Peter A. Inverso established a reputation as a fair and balanced voice, earning the respect and admiration of his colleagues on both sides of the political aisle;

b. Among his many legislative accomplishments, Senator Inverso initiated the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program (OSRP) as part of the fiscal year 1997 annual appropriations act;

c. The Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program provides public and independent institutions of higher education with campus-based funding to finance scholarships as a mechanism to recruit high achieving New Jersey students as measured by class rank and SAT scores. The OSRP State funding, which is matched by institutional funds, serves as a retention mechanism for New Jersey's brightest students. Past recipients of OSRP scholarships, OSRP program administrators, and student migration data suggest that the program has been successful in offsetting the out-migration of high-achieving New Jersey college freshmen. However, no funds were appropriated to support new OSRP awards in FY 2006, FY 2007, and FY 2008 reflecting the intent to eliminate the program as a budget item after FY 2009; and

d. In light of the success of the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program and the State's vital interest in retaining its best and brightest students to provide the educated workforce critical to the State's economic vitality, it is appropriate that the OSRP be established as a permanent statutory program.

3. As used in this act:

"Authority" means the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:71A-1 et seq.

"Program" means the Senator Peter A. Inverso Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program.

4. There is hereby created the Senator Peter A. Inverso Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program for students at the State's public and independent institutions of higher education. It shall be the duty of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to administer the program.

5. a. The Senator Peter A. Inverso Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program shall provide public and independent institutions of higher education with campus-based funding to support scholarships to recruit high achieving New Jersey students as measured by class rank and SAT scores. Under the program the State shall pay up to 70% of the scholarship award at a public institution and up to 40% at an independent institution, with each participating institution supporting the balance of the scholarship awards through institutional funds. The authority shall provide funding to an institution in accordance with a contract entered into between the authority and the institution.

b. The program shall provide annual scholarship awards up to a maximum of $7,500 to a student with an SAT score above 1,500 and a class rank in the top 5% of his high school graduating class. The award amount shall decrease to $2,500 for a student with an SAT score between 1,350 and 1,390 and a class rank between the 85th and 89th percentiles. The award amount shall not, when combined with any other financial assistance, exceed the student's actual cost of attendance at the institution of higher education. In the event that a student receives an award under another State-supported merit scholarship program, the scholarship awarded pursuant to this act shall be reduced by the amount of the other merit scholarship. The institution shall select the individual scholarship recipients.

c. To be eligible to receive a scholarship under the program a student shall:

(1) be a State resident pursuant to guidelines established by the authority;

(2) have applied for all other available forms of State and federal financial aid, exclusive of loans; and

(3) be enrolled in a full-time course of study in an institution of higher education, not including any credit hours in a remedial or developmental curriculum.

d. To be eligible to receive a renewal scholarship under the program a student shall maintain a 3.0 grade point average and continuous enrollment in a full-time course of study at the institution.

e. Eligibility for the program shall be limited to a total of four years or eight semesters, unless the student is enrolled in an approved five year program. A student may be granted leave from the program without impacting continued eligibility due to an institution-approved emergency leave as a result of the student's illness or the illness of a member of his immediate family, or to participate in a study abroad program.

6. To be eligible for participation in the program, an institution of higher education shall participate in the Student Unit Record Enrollment data collection and reporting system administered by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education.

7. The Higher Education Student Assistance 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 this act.

8. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first be applicable to the 2011-2012 academic year.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the Senator Peter A. Inverso Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program (OSRP), originally initiated by the Senator in the FY 1997 annual appropriations act, as part of the permanent statutory law.

The Senator Peter A. Inverso Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program will provide public and independent institutions of higher education with campus-based funding to finance scholarships as a mechanism to recruit high achieving New Jersey students as measured by class rank and SAT scores. The program's State funding, which is matched by institution funds, serves as a retention mechanism for New Jersey's brightest students. Under the program the State will pay up to 70% of the scholarship at a public institution and up to 40% at an independent institution, with the institution financing the balance of the scholarship award. The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority will provide campus-based funding to a participating institution in accordance with a contract entered into between the authority and the institution.

Under the bill's provisions, a student with an SAT score above 1,500 and a class rank in the top 5% of his high school graduating class will receive an annual scholarship of up to a maximum of $7,500. The scholarship amount would decrease to $2,500 for a student with an SAT score between 1,350 and 1,390 and a class rank between the 85th and 89th percentiles. The institution will select the individual scholarship recipients.

The bill provides that eligibility for a scholarship requires that a student be a State resident, apply for all other available forms of State and federal financial aid, exclusive of loans, and enrolls for a full-time course of study at an institution of higher education, not including any credit hours in a remedial or development curriculum.

Under the bill, students are required to maintain a 3.0 grade point average and continuous enrollment in a full-time course of study at an institution of higher education in order to receive a renewal scholarship. Eligibility for the program will be limited to a total of four years or eight semesters, unless the student is enrolled in an approved five year program.