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Senate hearing: Higher education leaders urge restoration of FY2026 cuts to student aid and operating support
Summary
College leaders and the secretary of higher education warned that Governor Murphy's FY2026 proposal would slash operating aid and student supports — including Summer TAG and parts of the outcomes-based allocation — and urged the Legislature to restore roughly $70 million in operating aid and other program funding.
Trenton — Higher education officials and college presidents told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on May 1 that Governor Murphy's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget would undermine recent gains in access and completion unless the Legislature restores cuts to operating and student-aid programs.
Dr. Brian Bridges, New Jersey's secretary of higher education, described investments under the Murphy administration that he said expanded access and completion, including a three-year $17.4 million initiative to reengage more than 11,200 stopped‑out adult learners. But he acknowledged the proposed budget trims funding across higher education and said the department stands ready to support legislative efforts to reinstate reductions.
Representatives of the New Jersey Higher Education…
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