Governor Phil Murphy has signed legislation sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean to help New Jersey college students graduate on time, by directing college campuses to encourage students to enroll in 30 credits per year.

“We want our college students to have the motivation to shoot for the moon from the moment they first arrive on campus,” Senator Kean (R-21) said. “Studies show that students who enroll in 15 credits, instead of taking the bare minimum, are more likely to graduate on time. This law will encourage them to take that leap. We are blessed with some of the best and brightest young people in the country and we will continue to do everything we can to support them as they pursue a college degree or career.”

Kean’s legislation, S-767, directs the Secretary of Higher Education to establish a communications campaign, including billboards, brochures, and electronic resources, to encourage students to enroll in 30 credits per years.

The bill also directs that those communications must reach students directly during course registration for the academic semester, and requires institutions of higher education to report to the secretary on strategies and incentives to accomplish this goal.

According to a study from Columbia University, college students who enroll in 15 credits in their first semester are more likely to graduate, and graduate on time, than students who only take the minimum of 12 credits that’s necessary to be considered a full-time student for federal financial aid.

S-767 is part of a package of bills sponsored by Senator Kean, and legislators on both sides of the aisle, to address the crisis of college affordability in New Jersey.

“Too many college students are graduating with six-figures of debt, wondering how they’ll ever pay it off,” Senator Kean, a longtime member of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said. “As we work to bring the cost of college down, we also have to do a much better job at giving these kids, and their families, the tools and information they need to make smart choices about their future. S-767 will help us do that. I am glad to see it signed into law today.”