Statutes, codes, and regulations
New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 9A - HIGHER EDUCATIONChapter 11 - EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FUND: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
Subchapter 2 - UNDERGRADUATE EOF ACADEMIC AND FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY
Section 9A:11-2.3 - Financial eligibility for initial Article III student grants

N.J. Admin. Code § 9A:11-2.3

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Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024
Section 9A:11-2.3 - Financial eligibility for initial Article III student grants
(a) The EOF Income Eligibility Scale is based on 200 percent of the annual Federal poverty guideline (that is, doubled), as published annually in the Federal Register. This benchmark was established to reflect an eligible target population consistent with the intent of the original legislation. The EOF Executive Director shall inform institutions of annual adjustments to the EOF Income Eligibility Scale each summer, and the gross income limits set forth in this subsection shall be updated through a notice of administrative change published in the New Jersey Register.
1. Except as provided at (d), (e), (g), (h), and (i) below, dependent and independent students are financially eligible for an initial Article III student grant if their gross household income does not exceed the applicable amounts set forth in the EOF Income Eligibility Scale, as follows:

Academic Year 2025-2026

Applicants with a Household size of Gross Income Not to Exceed
1 $ 30,120
2 40,880
3 51,640
4 62,400
5 73,160
6 83,920
7 94,680
8 105,440

2. For each additional member of the household, an allowance of $ 10,760 shall be added to this amount in order to determine EOF eligibility for the 2025-2026 academic year.
3. The gross income level for each household size as shown at (a)1 and 2 above has been adjusted to reflect changes in Federal poverty guidelines as stated at (a) above.
(b) A dependent student's income shall not be considered in the gross household income.
(c) The following sources of untaxed income-earned income credit, additional child tax credit, untaxed social security benefits, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)-shall be excluded from consideration in the gross household income of applicants.
(d) An applicant whose household receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and/or Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) as the sole means of support is eligible regardless of the amount of such support.
(e) An applicant who falls between the ages of 16 to 23, who is or was in a New Jersey paid placement, arranged through the Division of Child Protection and Permanency within the Department of Children and Families, and who meets one of the criteria listed below, automatically satisfies the financial eligibility criteria stated in (a) above:
1. An individual who has been in the care and custody of the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency within the Department of Children and Families, in an out of home placement for a cumulative nine months or more following the individual's 16th birthday;
2. An individual who has been in the care and custody of the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency within the Department of Children and Families after the age of 14 for a cumulative 18 months;
3. An individual who is or has been residing in an independent living arrangement or transitional living program established, operated, or approved for payment by the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency within the Department of Children and Families, pursuant to the New Jersey Homeless Youth Act or the Federal "Runaway and Homeless Youth Act" Title II of Pub. L. 93-415 (42 U.S.C. §§ 5701. et seq.);
4. An individual adopted through the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency within the Department of Children and Families after the age of 12; or
5. An individual in a New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency within the Department of Children and Families out-of-home placement who left to enter a kinship legal guardianship (KLG) following the youth's 16th birthday.
(f) In determining financial eligibility for an Article III student grant, separation or divorce or the disability or death of a wage earner in the calendar year before the academic year for which eligibility is being determined, with a concomitant decrease in household income below the EOF Income Eligibility Scale, does not automatically satisfy the financial eligibility criteria stated in (a) above.
(g) The campus EOF administrator/director shall approve students in cases such as those cited in (f) above after review and recommendation by the financial aid office. The campus EOF administrator/director, in cooperation with the director of financial aid, shall have the discretion to use professional judgment to assess whether an applicant or the applicant's family meets the spirit and intent of the Fund.
(h) Where there is evidence that strict adherence to the maximum income and asset eligibility cut-off will not serve the purpose of the Fund, the campus EOF administrator/director has the discretion to admit, up to a maximum of 10 percent of the annual class of initial students with family incomes as high as, but no more than, 281 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines and whose assets do not exceed 20 percent of the maximum income allowance as per the 281 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines per household size, as published annually by the Federal government. These discretionary admit students, however, shall also meet all eligibility provisions of N.J.A.C. 9A:11-2.2.
(i) Institutions shall obtain permission from the EOF Executive Director before exceeding the 10 percent discretionary, financial eligibility waiver set forth in (h) above.
(j) The records of applicants deemed eligible in accordance with the provisions of (g), (h), and (i) above shall contain sufficient documentation to support the use of professional judgment, as stated in (g) above, and the discretionary criteria, as stated in (h) above.
(k) Notwithstanding provisions of (g) and (h) above, priority shall be given to students whose incomes and assets are within the limits of (a) above.

N.J. Admin. Code § 9A:11-2.3

Amended by R.2000 d.18, effective 1/18/2000.
See: 31 N.J.R. 3034(a), 32 N.J.R. 275(a).
In (a), substituted references to 2000-01 for references to 1999-2000 throughout, increased gross income maximums in 1, and increased allowance in 2.
Amended by R.2001 d.35, effective 1/16/2001.
See: 32 N.J.R. 3713(a), 33 N.J.R. 268(a).
In (a), substituted references to 2001-02 for references to 2000-2001 throughout, increased gross income maximums in 1, and increased allowance in 2.
Amended by R.2002 d.108, effective 4/1/2002.
See: 33 N.J.R. 3718(a), 34 N.J.R. 1425(c).
Rewrote (a).
Amended by R.2003 d.28, effective 1/21/2003.
See: 34 N.J.R. 2896(a), 35 N.J.R. 404(b).
In (a), substituted "2003-04" for "2002-2003" and increased the amounts in the Income Eligibility Scale in 1 and 2.
Amended by R.2004 d.161, effective 4/19/2004.
See: 35 N.J.R. 5533(a), 36 N.J.R. 1919(b).
Rewrote the section.
Amended by R.2005 d.84, effective 3/7/2005.
See: 36 N.J.R. 3621(a), 37 N.J.R. 773(a).
Rewrote (a).
Amended by R.2006 d.40, effective 1/17/2006.
See: 37 N.J.R. 3173(a), 38 N.J.R. 801(a).
In (a)1, increased the gross household income maximum for the 2006-07 academic year; in (a)2, increased the allowance from $ 6,360 in 2005-06 academic year to $ 6,520 for the 2006-07 academic year.
Amended by R.2007 d.88, effective 3/19/2007.
See: 38 N.J.R. 4798(a), 39 N.J.R. 933(a).
In introductory paragraph of (a), rewrote last sentence; in the table in (a)1, substituted "2007-08" for "2006-07" and updated the dollar amounts; and in (a)2, substituted "6,800" for "6,520" and "2007-08" for "2006-07".
Administrative change.
See: 39 N.J.R. 4845(a).
Administrative change.
See: 40 N.J.R. 6204(b).
Recodified from N.J.A.C. 9A:11-2.4 and amended by R.2009 d.187, effective 6/15/2009.
See: 40 N.J.R. 6365(a), 41 N.J.R. 2471(a).
In the introductory paragraph of (a), inserted "by the United States Department of Health and Human Services"; in (a)1, substituted "(e), (g), (h), and (i)" for "(f), (g) and (h)"; added new (e); recodified former (e) through (j) as (f) through (k); in (g), substituted "(f)" for "(e)"; in (i), substituted "(h)" for "(g)"; in (j), substituted "(g), (h), and (i) above" for "(f), (g) and (h) above,", "(g) above" for "(f) above", and "(h) above" for "(g) above"; and in (k), substituted "(g) and (h)" for "(f) and (g)". Former N.J.A.C. 9A:11-2.3, Dependent/independent student defined, recodified to N.J.A.C. 9A:11-2.4.
Administrative change.
See: 42 N.J.R. 482(a).
Administrative change.
See: 42 N.J.R. 482(a), 2620(b).
Administrative change.
See: 44 N.J.R. 165(a), 2652(a).
Administrative change.
See: 45 N.J.R. 2384(b).
Administrative change.
See: 46 N.J.R. 2112(a).
Administrative change.
See: 47 N.J.R. 2296(a).
Amended by R.2016 d.152, effective 11/7/2016.
See: 48 N.J.R. 1037(b), 48 N.J.R. 2356(a).
Rewrote the table in (a)1; in (a)2, substituted "2017-2018" for "2016-2017"; rewrote (e); and in (h), substituted "admit students" for "admits".
Administrative change.
See: 49 N.J.R. 1226(a).
Amended by R.2017 d.160, effective 8/21/2017.
See: 49 N.J.R. 619(a), 49 N.J.R. 2796(b).
In (h), substituted "class of first-year" for "freshman class,".
Administrative change.
See: 50 N.J.R. 1367(a).
Amended by R.2019 d.090, effective 9/3/2019.
See: 51 N.J.R. 348(a), 51 N.J.R. 1423(a).
In (h), inserted "and asset", substituted "initial" for "first-year" and "no" for "nor", and inserted "and whose assets do not exceed 20 percent of the maximum income allowance as per the 281 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines per household size"; in (i), substituted "financial eligibility" for "over-income"; and in (k), inserted "and assets".
Administrative change, effective 6/8/2021.
See: 53 N.J.R. 1145(a).
Administrative Change, 54 N.J.R. 1300(a), effective 6/1/2022
Administrative Change, 55 N.J.R. 1333(a), effective 6/15/2023
Administrative Change, 56 N.J.R. 1105(a), effective 5/9/2024