Expands Tuition Aid Grant program to part-time undergraduates.

S3354

SENATE, No. 3354

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Expands Tuition Aid Grant program to part-time
undergraduates.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

expanding the Tuition Aid Grant program, amending N.J.S.18A:71B-20 and
N.J.S.18A:71B-21, 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.��� (New section)� The
Legislature finds and declares that:

���� a.���� the availability of
educational opportunity at the college and university level is a critical State
interest given the needs of the State for a well-educated work force;

���� b.��� the cost of college in New
Jersey, as in the nation, continues to grow faster than the rate of
inflation;

���� c.���� soaring tuition rates
threaten to impede student access to a quality higher education;

���� d.��� the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG)
program, established in 1968, is a State program that provides grant awards to
resident full-time undergraduates attending New Jersey public and private
institutions of higher education up to the cost of tuition based on a family's
ability to pay;

���� e.���� part-time students
attending a higher education institution, other than county colleges, are
currently ineligible for TAG awards; and

���� f.���� expanding the TAG
program to include part-time students would demonstrate the State's commitment
to student financial aid for those students who are in as much need of
financial assistance and are as deserving of an opportunity for a
post-secondary education as those students able to attend an institution of
higher education on a full-time basis.

���� 2.��� N.J.S.18A:71B-20 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 18A:71B-20. a. A State tuition
aid grant shall be awarded annually to each eligible, qualified full-time
undergraduate student enrolled in a curriculum leading to a degree or
certificate in an eligible institution, or in an institution of higher education
in another state, provided that state permits its residents to utilize its
state student financial assistance grants in New Jersey institutions of higher
education through reciprocity agreements approved by the authority.� In no
event shall a State tuition aid grant be utilized at an out-of-State
institution which is not licensed by that state and accredited by a regional
accrediting association recognized by a national accrediting organization.
�A
State tuition aid grant shall also be awarded annually to each eligible,
qualified part-time undergraduate student enrolled in a curriculum leading to a
degree or certificate in an eligible institution in New Jersey.

���� b.��� To each New Jersey
resident enrolled as a full-time student, except as otherwise provided in
subsection d. of this section, and meeting the other requirements for
eligibility under this chapter
and to each New Jersey resident enrolled as a
part-time student
, the State shall grant an amount as provided in
N.J.S.18A:71B-21.� A student shall not be eligible for a grant unless the
application is in a form satisfactory to the authority.� A student shall not be
eligible for grants for more than four and one-half academic years, unless the
recipient is enrolled in an undergraduate program regularly requiring five
academic years for completion, in which case the authority shall permit five
and one-half years of eligibility.� Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a
student receiving aid under the provisions of P.L.1968, c.142 (C.18A:71-28 et
seq.) shall be entitled to a sixth year of eligibility.� Notwithstanding the
foregoing provisions, a county college student who transfers to a four-year
institution, or any student who is required to pursue 18 or more credit hours
in a remedial or developmental curriculum, as defined by regulations adopted by
the authority, is entitled to an additional half year of eligibility.� For the
purpose of this article, a remedial curriculum shall include only noncredit
courses in which a student is directed to enroll by the institution.�
[
Eligibility
for tuition aid grants may be extended to part-time students through
regulations developed by the authority if funds are separately appropriated for
this purpose.
]

�
Each period of part-time award status shall be counted toward the maximum
allowable period of student eligibility as one-half of the maximum allowable
period of full-time student eligibility.
A student shall not be eligible
for grants unless the student maintains such minimum standards of academic
performance as are required by the institution of enrollment.� A student who is
enrolled in a course leading to a degree in theology or divinity shall not be
eligible for a tuition aid grant.

���� c.���� A person shall not be
awarded a State tuition aid grant unless that person:

���� (1)�� satisfies the residency
and other requirements provided in article 1 of this part;

���� (2)�� has applied for State
tuition aid and has been determined by the authority to be eligible for the
tuition aid;

���� (3)�� has demonstrated
financial need for the tuition aid as determined by and in accordance with
standards to be established by the authority; and

���� (4)�� maintains satisfactory
academic progress in accordance with standards established by the authority.

���� d.��� Eligibility criteria for
summer tuition aid grants awarded pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2023, c.34
(C.18A:71B-20a) shall conform to the requirements of this section and shall
include the following additional eligibility criteria:

���� (1)�� the student is enrolled
in six or more credit hours in the summer term;

���� (2)�� the courses for which
the summer tuition aid grant is to be applied are in the same undergraduate
program at the same institution in which the student was enrolled during the
student's most recent semester of enrollment in the preceding academic year; and

���� (3)�� the courses for which
the summer tuition aid grant is to be applied may be credited toward the
student's graduation or academic major requirements.

(cf: P.L.2023, c.283, s.1)

���� 3.��� N.J.S.18A:71B-21 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 18A:71B-21.� a.� The amount of
a tuition aid grant awarded under this article to any student attending an
eligible institution shall be established by the authority, but shall not
exceed the maximum amount of tuition normally charged at a public institution
of higher education for students attending that institution or 50
[
%
]

percent

of the average tuition normally charged at the independent institutions of
higher education for students attending those institutions.�
As determined
by the authority, part-time grant awards shall be prorated against the
full-time grant award for the applicable institutional sector.
� The amount
of a State tuition aid grant awarded under this act to any
full-time

student attending an institution of higher education in any state other than New
Jersey pursuant to this section shall not exceed $500 in an academic year.�
The amount of grant to be paid for each semester or its equivalent shall be
based on the financial need for the grant, as determined by standards and
procedures established by the authority, and subject to the amount of
appropriations available therefor.

���� b.��� Appropriations for each
program category of
full-time
tuition aid grants shall be separately
made by line item.�
Appropriations for each program category of part-time
tuition aid grants shall be separately made by line item.

���� c.���� State tuition aid
grants shall be awarded by the authority to all eligible applicants without any
limitation on the number to be awarded in any year other than the amount of
appropriations available therefor.� In the event that the amount appropriated
is insufficient for full awards to all eligible applicants, the authority, in
consultation with the Commission on Higher Education, shall reduce awards
equitably among eligible students according to such procedures and guidelines
as it shall establish.� Any revisions of procedures and guidelines in effect as
of the effective date of this act shall be submitted on or before March 1 of
the prebudget year by the executive director of the authority to the Joint
Budget Oversight Committee of the Legislature, or its successor, together with
supporting information.� The revised criteria and guidelines may be approved or
disapproved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor, at any
time; provided that if at the end of a 60-calendar day period after the date on
which the revisions are transmitted to the committee, the committee has taken
no action, the proposed revised criteria and guidelines shall be deemed to be
approved by the committee.

(cf:� N.J.S.18A:71B-21)

���� 4.��� (New section) �a.� The
amount of funds appropriated on the effective date of P.L.��� , c.�� (C.���� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) for full-time tuition aid grants shall not
be reduced or diverted to implement the provisions of that act.

���� b.��� The amount of funds
appropriated on the effective date of P.L.��� , c.�� (C.���� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill) for part-time tuition aid grants for county
college students shall not be reduced or diverted to implement the provisions
of that act.

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first apply to the 2026-2027 academic year.

STATEMENT

���� This bill expands the Tuition
Aid Grant program to part-time undergraduate students who are enrolled in an
eligible institution in New Jersey. �The bill provides that part-time grant
awards would be prorated against the full-time grant award for public and
independent institutions of higher education as determined by the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority. �Under the current statute, the amount
of a tuition aid grant may not exceed the maximum amount of tuition normally
charged at a public institution or 50 percent of the average tuition normally
charged at an independent institution.

���� Appropriations for each
program category of part-time tuition aid grants would be made separately by
line item in order to ensure that funding for the part-time tuition aid grants
would not lead to a reduction in the funding for the full-time tuition aid
grants. �