NJ A438

Students receiving Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) grants may elect to use a portion of their award during the summer session for courses fulfilling graduation requirements or counting toward their academic major.

Students must notify the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education before the academic year begins of their intent to use funds for summer courses, and the disbursement amount during the regular academic year will be reduced accordingly.

Summer session usage of the opportunity grant does not count toward the maximum number of years a student is eligible to receive EOF assistance.

The Secretary of Higher Education must annually report for each participating institution: the number of students who did and did not use grant funds for summer session, and graduation rates within 100% and 150% of average completion time for both groups.

The bill implements a recommendation from the College Affordability Study Commission's September 2016 final report.