Committee releases $20 million supplemental for summer tuition grants, stakeholders urge full funding

The committee released Assembly bill A4811, a proposed FY2025 supplemental appropriation of $20 million to fund summer tuition aid grants and to set award payments at 75% of the statutory maximum for eligible students. Testimony from system representatives welcomed the increase from the budgeted 50% level but urged the committee and appropriators to pursue 100% funding if possible.

Jennifer Maloney (New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities) said raising summer aid to 75% has produced an uptick in student participation in summer courses and argued that moving to 100% would make an even larger difference. Representatives from higher-education groups and the president’s council described an earlier drafting error as the reason the program returned at 75% rather than the 100% some institutions expected; one witness estimated roughly 13,000 students received summer grants this year totaling about $31 million in awards, and warned that if summer awards stay at 75% next year those students could face an $8 million additional out-of-pocket burden.

The committee moved and recorded a unanimous roll-call vote to release the bill with committee amendments. Witnesses asked the committee to monitor budget flexibility and consider raising the percentage to 100% if additional funding becomes available.