Atlantic Cape Community College To Offer Free Tuition In January

Atlantic Cape Community College has been selected as one of 13 community colleges statewide that will be able to offer free tuition to some of their students as part of a pilot program. The Community College Innovation Challenge will take effect in January at the school, according to college officials.

Students with adjusted gross incomes between $0 and $45,000 and who are enrolled at least half time at Atlantic Cape in the spring will be eligible to receive “last-dollar” CCOG grants. The grants cover remaining costs of tuition and approved education fees after all other financial aid grant awards have been applied. Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress to remain eligible.

Current students who have already completed a financial aid application for the fall 2018 semester will be automatically considered for eligibility if they enroll for at least six credits in the spring 2019 semester. Students who have not yet filed for financial aid for academic year 2018-19 will have until Feb. 15, 2019 to apply for CCOG awards. Potential students are encouraged to enroll for the spring semester starting Nov. 1 either online or visiting one of the college’s three campuses.

All 19 of the state's community colleges applied for the program. The proposals were jointly reviewed by Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) and the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA). To become eligible, schools had to meet criteria that was announced in the Notice of Fund Availability in July.

“We are tremendously excited to be able to offer our students this amazing opportunity where higher education is open to everyone. This initiative is the beginning of even more students being able to complete their educational goals and succeed in future endeavors,” Atlantic Cape President Dr. Barbara Gaba said. “I’m especially excited that residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties can now receive a college education and not take on debt. It’s a great opportunity for everyone, for students just graduating high school to professionals who never considered college before or want to change their career path.”

Initially, HESAA estimates that about 13,000 students throughout the colleges that were selected will be covered by the grants.

“We applaud Governor Murphy's vision and commitment to expanding college access and affordability, and his belief in community colleges as a solution to help improve the state,” New Jersey Council of County Colleges President Aaron R. Fichtner, Ph.D. said. “This pilot program will provide the community colleges the opportunity to learn and collaborate to inform future statewide efforts to expand access to higher education.”

There will be several information sessions that the public can attend to have questions answered and learn about eligibility and the application process for the program at Atlantic Cape. They will take place on the following dates and times:

• 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. on Oct. 11 at the Cape May County Campus
• 1 p.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 14 at the Mays Landing Campus’s Open House
• 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the Charles D. Worthington Atlantic City Campus

For additional information about the Free College Tuition/CCOG initiative and upcoming information sessions, visit www.atlantic.edu/freecollege.

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