What to Know
- Tuition-free community colleges are coming to 13 New Jersey campuses starting in January
- On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that about 13,000 qualifying students will be able to attend one of 13 community colleges
- Students who are coming from families with adjusted gross incomes between $0 and $45,000 will be eligible to receive "last dollar" grants
Tuition-free community colleges are coming to 13 New Jersey campuses starting in January.
On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that about 13,000 qualifying students will be able to attend one of 13 community colleges for free in the spring semester of January 2019.
“Making community college tuition free will help New Jersey’s young people and working adults earn post-secondary degrees to advance their careers – and it will help build the talented workforce that is the engine of our state’s economy,” Murphy said in a statement.
All 19 of the state’s community colleges applied to participate in the Community College Innovation Challenge, signaling interest and need across the state. However, 13 were chosen to take place in the pilot.
The 13 community colleges participating in the pilot are: 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.
Students enrolled at least half time at these 13 pilot community colleges are eligible to receive “last-dollar” Community College Opportunity Grants (CCOG), which will cover any remaining tuition costs and approved educational fees after applying all other financial aid grant awards to the student’s account.
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Students who are coming from families with adjusted gross incomes between $0 and $45,000 will be eligible for CCOG awards, but to remain eligible for the program in the future, students must maintain certain grades.
The colleges’ applications were evaluated according to a standardized rubric. The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority estimates that the state will provide CCOG awards to about 13,000 students at the 13 selected institutions, with the funding appropriated for this purpose in the state’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget.
Current students who have completed a financial aid application for the fall 2018 semester will be automatically considered for CCOG if they enroll at one of the pilot institutions for at least six credits in the spring 2019 semester.
Students at one of these pilot community colleges who have not yet filed for financial aid for academic year 2018-2019 will have until February 15, 2019 to apply for CCOG awards by completing the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid or by completing the Alternative Application for New Jersey Dreamers.
