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Higher‑education leaders urge lawmakers to restore proposed FY26 cuts, warn of student aid and capital shortfalls
Summary
College and university presidents urged the Assembly Budget Committee to restore proposed FY2026 cuts to operating aid, summer TAG and other financial‑aid programs, warning the reductions would reduce access, strain campus services and slow planned capital repairs. Officials outlined program details, numbers of students served, and options for targeted restoration.
College and university leaders told the Assembly Budget Committee on Wednesday that proposed reductions in the governor's FY2026 higher‑education budget would undermine access, slow degree completion and defer critical campus repairs.
Secretary Bridges of the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education opened the session by noting the administration's multi‑year investments in higher education and describing FY2026 priorities as "targeted investments" paired with fiscal discipline. Executive Director Shelley of the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESA) then reviewed programs administered by HESA, including Tuition Aid Grants (TAG), the Community College Opportunity Grant (CCOG) and the Garden State Guarantee (GSG), and said the administration proposes roughly $486 million for full‑time TAG in the upcoming year.
The hearing featured a line of institutional testimony asking for the restoration of specific proposed reductions. Michael Aveltrone, speaking for independent colleges, asked legislators to restore about $8.6 million proposed in operating‑aid cuts for independent mission institutions and to release $350 million in educational financing authority capital funds. Margaret McMenamin, representing New Jersey's 18 community colleges, asked the committee to restore a proposed $20 million cut in community college operating aid and warned that the sector remains an engine of access and workforce training for roughly 240,000 residents. Rutgers president Holloway said the proposed package would amount to roughly $65 million in combined operating and programmatic reductions affecting campuses and student services.
HESA confirmed that summer TAG is funded for summer 2025 at 75% of full awards but that there is no appropriation for summer 2026; the agency estimated it would cost about $36 million to fund summer TAG at 100% in future years. HESA also said it administers the NJCLASS supplemental loan program (current portfolio ~ $1.4 billion) and that HESA will continue to administer loan redemption programs, while pointing legislators to federal authorities for questions about federal student‑loan administration.
Committee members pressed for line‑item detail and options to prioritize preservation of signature programs. Several members noted the timing problem for students who plan academic years now and need certainty about summer course funding. Members also pressed for more predictable capital funding; Secretary Bridges described the state's revolving bond program and said the administration is exploring a proposal for a more regular annual appropriation to address deferred maintenance.
What happens next: lawmakers will take the governor's proposed budget through the committee process; agency officials committed to provide additional line‑item details, capital project descriptions, athletics spending breakdowns and counts of residents/interns for University Hospital as requested by the committee.
