Legislation Aims to Help NJ Students Afford College Tuition [AUDIO]

Legislation sponsored by Assembly members Pam Lampitt and Pat Diegnan that would make changes to the NJ STARS and NJ STARS II scholarship programs to secure their sustainability has cleared an Assembly committee.

Changes to the programs would limit the scholarship to cover only the cost of tuition rather than tuition and fees, allow a student to use the use a scholarship to attend a private, four-year college or university in New Jersey (current law only allows these scholarships to be used to attend public colleges or universities in New Jersey ) and the cost of a NJ STARS II scholarship would be paid 100 percent by the state and capped at $2,500 instead of it being split evenly by the state and college or university, as mandated under current law.

"In a way, these scholarship programs have been victims of their own success in tough economic times," says Lampitt (D-Camden). "In light of the Governor's higher education cuts, we hope these adjustments will provide more predictability and stability to these successful programs, so that we continue to retain New Jersey's best and brightest students who plan to pursue higher education in one of our state's great colleges and universities."

The legislation also encourages county colleges to host an annual recruitment day and invite representatives from each four-year public and private college or university in the state so these schools may recruit students for the NJ STARS II Program.

Diegnan explains, "These scholarship programs have helped thousands of students in New Jersey, and we must ensure they continue to be viable for students who have excelled academically and want to attend our colleges and universities."

Because of the $2,500 cap, the bill would also eliminate the provision that calculated the amount of the scholarship based on the student's grade point average (GPA).

Lampitt says, "This is not only an investment in our students, but an investment in New Jersey's future."

"With budgetary constraints, this is one way to preserve programs that helps keep talented students and potential future employees in New Jersey," explains Diegnan. "By making these changes, we are upholding our responsibility to our students and our taxpayers."