N.J.S.A. 18A:3B-42 — Troops to College Grant Program.

18A:3B-42 Troops to College Grant Program. 2. a. The Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, shall establish the Troops to College Program. The purpose of the program shall be to assist New Jersey's institutions of higher education in coordinating the provision of a comprehensive array of services to assist veterans in making the transition into the college classroom. The services may include, but need not be limited to, assistance in applying for State and federal student financial aid, counseling resources, a campus veterans' assistance officer to provide a single point of contact for information on the institution's benefits and programs for veterans, and an online resource to consolidate pertinent information specifically for veterans attending that institution. b. The secretary in implementing the Troops to College Program shall include on its Internet site information to assist veterans in accessing the higher education opportunities that exist in the State. The information shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) contact information for the campus veterans' assistance officer at each of the institutions of higher education; and (2) information on the array of programs and services available to veterans at each of the institutions of higher education. c. The secretary, in consultation with the department, shall establish a Troops to College Grant Program. Under the program, the secretary shall annually select up to three institutions of higher education to receive a $150,000 Troops to College grant. In order to receive a grant, an institution shall demonstrate that it is providing a comprehensive array of services, benefits, and programs for veterans attending the institution. In awarding a grant to an institution, the secretary shall consider the following factors: (1) the total number of self-reporting veterans enrolled in the institution; (2) the existence of a veterans' affairs office at the institution and the number of staff assigned to the office; (3) whether the institution has entered into the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding; (4) whether the institution's tuition and fees are at or below the minimum limits established by the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008," Pub.L.110-252 (38 U.S.C. s.3301 et seq.); (5) whether the institution participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program of the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008," Pub.L.110-252 (38 U.S.C. s.3301 et seq.); (6) whether the institution waives its application fee and offers priority registration to veterans; (7) the level of academic and staff support provided to veterans enrolled in the institution; (8) the number and type of extracurricular activities designed for and offered to veterans enrolled in the institution; (9) the amount of institutional funds allocated to support veterans enrolled in the institution, including the number of scholarships offered to veteran students; (10) whether the institution offers veteran housing or provides an area on campus where veteran students may meet and discuss issues of common interest; (11) the course completion rate of self-reporting veterans enrolled in the institution; (12) the institution's retention and graduation rates for self-reporting veterans enrolled in the institution; (13) the student loan default rate for self-reporting veterans enrolled in the institution; and (14) the employment and salary status of self-reporting veterans six years following graduation from the institution. L.2009, c.125, s.2; amended 2021, c.176. 18A:3B-42a Credit for student's military experience. 1. a. Each public and independent institution of higher education, after taking into account and giving due consideration to the credit recommendation of the American Council on Education, shall accept and apply towards an undergraduate degree program appropriate credit for a student's military experience, following an evaluation and determination by the institution that the credits are in alignment with appropriate courses and correspond to the degree being pursued at the institution. The institution may award a maximum of 30 credits for military experience towards an undergraduate degree to a student enrolled in the institution. Each public and independent institution of higher education, after taking into account and giving due consideration to the credit recommendation of the American Council on Education, shall accept and apply towards a graduate degree program appropriate credit for a student's military experience, following an evaluation and determination by the institution that the credits are in alignment with appropriate courses and correspond to the degree being pursued at the institution. The institution may award a maximum of 12 credits for military experience towards a graduate degree to a student enrolled in the institution. The credit recommendation of the American Council on Education represents college-level equivalencies based on a review of workforce training, military training or occupations, and other sources of learning outside the college classroom. b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any public or independent institution of higher education to admit a student or to waive its admission standards and application procedures. c. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a public or independent institution from accepting and applying towards a degree program more than 30 undergraduate degree credits, or 12 graduate degree credits, for a student's military experience should the institution choose to take such action. L.2019, c.327, s.1. 18A:3B-42b Higher education student, academic credit earned for each poll worker shift; program guidelines developed. 1. a. The Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the Director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State, shall develop guidelines for a program to allow a student enrolled in an institution of higher education to earn academic credit for an undergraduate degree program for each full shift that the student serves as a poll worker during an election held in the State. b. An institution of higher education may award and apply towards an undergraduate degree program academic credit to an enrolled student for each full shift of service that the student serves as a poll worker during an election held in the State. An institution that determines to allow a student to receive academic credit for service as a poll worker, following an evaluation and determination by the institution that the credit is in alignment with the educational and programmatic mission of the institution, shall comply with the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section. c. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the student from receiving pay commensurate with other poll workers not receiving academic credit. Neither the program nor any participating institution of higher education shall require that the student forego such pay in order to receive academic credit. L.2022, c.40.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 18A:3B-42, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.