NJ Free College Program Boosted Essex County, Will It Continue? – Caldwells, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Robert Okoro pinched pennies and tried his best to save up to afford his final classes at Essex County College. But despite his best efforts, the Irvington resident’s financial well ran dry a few credits short of graduation.

“I didn’t know how I was going to pay for that last microbiology class,” the general science major recalled. “And then my prayers were finally answered.”

According to school administrators, Okoro is one of hundreds of students at Essex County College (ECC) who will get to continue their higher educations thanks to a state pilot program, the Community College Opportunity Grant (CCOG).

The program – which will end unless renewed in the 2020 state budget – offered free tuition at 19 community colleges throughout New Jersey to students with an annual gross income of under $45,000.

In all, about 300 students at ECC have received a financial boost from the program so far, administrators said.

Those students included Tchakpala Awaki Hozou, a 25-year-old biology/pre-medicine major living in Newark who received a tuition credit that covered his Spring 2019 semester.

“Now I can take the last two classes this summer I need to graduate and then transfer to Rutgers University-Newark,” Hozou said. “If this wonderful assistance hadn’t come along, I’d probably be working this summer and try to pay my tuition… if I could.”

Essex County College administrators are pushing hard for state officials to continue the pilot program, which ends on June 30. Administrators are also asking for the income limit to be raised to $65,000 a year, which would more than triple the number of eligible students at ECC to 1,100.

The program is “last-dollar,” meaning that the Community College Opportunity Grant awards cover any balance of tuition and approved educational fees that remain after accounting for all other grants and scholarships that an eligible student receives. To be eligible in spring 2019, students had to be enrolled at least half-time, had to have an adjusted gross income of less than $45,000, and had tuition and covered fees that exceeded the Pell Grant, Tuition Assistance Grant, and other grants and scholarships for which they qualified.

“Through innovative academic programming and access to the CCOG funds, many more Essex County College students were able to continue their journey in earning credentials of economic value that will better their lives, improve their communities, and ultimately move the state of New Jersey forward,” ECC President Anthony Munroe said.

Essex County College has campuses in Newark and West Caldwell.

FREE COLLEGE AND THE 2020 NJ BUDGET

While both Gov. Phil Murphy and Democratic leaders in the New Jersey Legislature have agreed the CCOG should continue for another year, there has been some back-and-forth over the amount of funding that would be devoted to the program.

On June 26, Murphy made a big push to expand the CCOG, calling it a “game changer.” He suggested more than doubling last year’s $25 million in funding to $58.5 million in fiscal year 2020.

The extra funds would expand the CCOG program to cover the fall and spring semesters, as opposed to just the spring semester, Murphy stated.

“Making community college free this past semester was a game changer for the students, for their communities, and for the state,” Murphy said. “If we are serious about continuing our investment in our residents, it is critical that we fully fund this grant in order to ensure that every individual has a chance to succeed.”

In a news statement, Murphy’s office also took a shot at his fellow Democratic lawmakers in the New Jersey Legislature, which he’s been feuding with over the proposed 2020 budget since its inception.

“While the Legislature voiced support for expanding the program to cover students with adjusted gross incomes of up to $65,000, the Legislature’s budget only appropriated $25 million for CCOG grants to students,” Murphy’s office charged. “Today’s event emphasized the need to fully fund the program in order to ensure that no eligible student is denied the opportunity to participate due to lack of funding.”

The NJ Senate Democrats fired back in a series of Twitter posts about the CCOG and their own version of the 2020 budget on Wednesday:

“The Legislature’s budget gave the county colleges their top priority — an expansion of the Opportunity Grant Program to provide more students financial assistance and to include more education programs… At the request of New Jersey’s county college presidents, the Legislature has proposed raising the income threshold from $45,000 to $65,000, which will help middle class students and working adults attend or return to college… We also included career and technical education that will empower them with job skills. And we continued last year’s investment of $25 million and added another $5 million to boost the program… Our budget made it possible to use funds for summer semesters, which were previously restricted, and we have reduced the number of required credits from six to 12, which will expand access to more working adults and serve more students… We should remember that the Governor vetoed legislation that would have provided an additional $22 million by having county colleges move their employees to the State Health Benefits Plan from the School Employee Benefits Plan. This was supported by the county colleges… If the governor is serious about providing more resources to our county colleges, he would have accepted these savings.”

Colleges participating in the initial version of the free tuition pilot included Atlantic Cape Community College, Bergen Community College, Camden County College, Cumberland County College, Hudson County Community College, Mercer County Community College, Middlesex County College, Ocean County College, Passaic County Community College, Rowan College at Gloucester County, Salem Community College, Union County College and Warren County Community College.

During a second round of funding, the following colleges were added to the list: Essex County College, Brookdale Community College, County College of Morris, Raritan Valley Community College, Rowan College at Burlington County and Sussex County Community College.

The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority are jointly administering the program. Learn more about the Community College Opportunity Grant.

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