Bill Text: NJ S808 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [S808 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S808-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing the 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 "Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program Act."
2. 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 Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program.
3. There is hereby created the 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.
4. a. The 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 percent of the scholarship award at a public institution and up to 40 percent 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 an annual scholarship award 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 percent of the student's 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) except as otherwise provided pursuant to subsection f. of this section, 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 if:
(1) the student is on medical leave due to the illness of the student or a member of the student's immediate family, including a physical or mental health condition, or emergency leave because of a family emergency, which medical or emergency leave shall have been approved by the institution; or
(2) the student is called to partial or full mobilization for State or federal active duty as a member of the National Guard or a Reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.
f. A student shall be
eligible to receive a scholarship under the program and take less than 12
credits in a semester if: the student provides to the institution a written
note from a physician or other licensed health care professional indicating the
student's need to take a reduced number of credits due to a physical or mental
health condition; or the student provides to the institution, in such form as
determined by the authority, verification of the recent death of the student's
parent or spouse. To receive a scholarship under the program for the semester,
a student who receives a medical exemption or an exemption due to the recent
death of the student's parent or spouse from the full-time course of study
requirement pursuant to this subsection shall enroll for a minimum of six
credits in the semester. A part-time award of a scholarship under the program
shall be prorated against the full-time award of the scholarship 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
11 credits shall receive three-quarters of a full-time award. A student shall
receive an additional semester of scholarship eligibility for each semester the
student receives an exemption from the full-time course of study requirement
pursuant to this subsection, not to exceed four additional semesters.
5. 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 Secretary of Higher Education.
6. 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.
7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first be applicable to the 2021-2022 academic year.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program, originally initiated in the FY 1997 annual appropriations act, as part of the permanent statutory law. The program was eliminated from the annual appropriations act in FY 2010.
The 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 institutional funds, will serve as a retention mechanism for New Jersey's brightest students. Under the program the State will pay up to 70 percent of the scholarship at a public institution and up to 40 percent 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 percent of the student's 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.
To be eligible for a scholarship under the program, a student is required to be a State resident, apply for all other available forms of State and federal financial aid, exclusive of loans, and enroll in a full-time course of study at an institution of higher education, not including any credit hours in a remedial or developmental curriculum.
Under the bill, a recipient of the scholarship is 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, except in the case of a physical or mental health condition, family emergency, or deployment to active duty. 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 or provides evidence that a student's physical or mental health evaluation or the recent death of a student's parent or spouse requires the student to enroll in less than 12 credits.
