Bill
A 4878
Extends grade protections to service members and their dependents, replacing the 8-week rule with a 55% course completion threshold for options like letter grade, pass/fail, incomp
Title: Relates to the establishment of mental health clubhouses / amendments concerning service members and their dependents enrolled at public institutions of higher education (amends P.L.1997, c.377; C.18A:62-4.2)
Status & key dates
- Introduced: October 17, 2024
- Committee reports: Jan 23, 2025 (Military & Veterans' Affairs); June 12, 2025 (Higher Education)
- Print No.: 4878C (June 6, 2025)
- Substituted by companion bill S3052 (1R) on June 30, 2025
- Effective date: takes effect immediately; first applies to the first full academic year following enactment
Purpose
- To extend, clarify, and expand grade‑option protections now afforded to service members who must interrupt coursework for military obligations to also cover dependents (spouse and dependent child) of service members, and to update how course‑completion thresholds and remedy options are applied.
Key provisions and changes
- Scope expanded: protections apply to both the service member and the service member’s dependents (defined as dependent child or spouse).
- Clarifies that the military obligation preventing course completion must be unplanned (deployment, mobilization, reassignment, or other unplanned military obligation).
- Replaces the current fixed “eight weeks” threshold with a proportional standard: 55 percent of the course duration is the demarcation point for available grade options.
- If the student (service member or dependent) has completed at least 55% of course duration, they may, subject to institutional approvals (faculty, department, registrar, or appropriate office):
- receive a letter grade — only if the faculty determines sufficient work/progress to justify it;
- receive pass/fail — subject to faculty determination of sufficient work/progress;
- receive an incomplete;
- withdraw from the course;
- receive a temporary grade, if applicable; or
- transfer into an equivalent online section (when available and approved).
- If less than 55% completed, options (subject to approvals) are limited to:
- incomplete (only if faculty finds sufficient work/progress);
- withdraw; or
- transfer into an equivalent online section (when available and approved).
- Conversion/follow‑up:
- A student who accepts pass/fail may, within one year after returning, work with faculty/department/registrar to establish a plan to complete work and obtain a letter grade (which would replace the pass/fail).
- An incomplete grade remains valid for one year after return.
- Financial relief:
- Withdrawal entitles the student to a full refund of tuition and fees attributable to the course.
- Room, board, and other fee refunds pro‑rated to the unused period, subject to applicable state/federal rules for financial aid recipients.
- Definitions:
- “Service member” includes Reserve component members, National Guard members, or active‑duty Armed Forces members.
- “Dependent” = dependent child or spouse of a service member.
Who is affected
- Primary: service members enrolled in New Jersey public institutions of higher education and their spouses and dependent children.
- Secondary: faculty, academic departments, registrars, and institutional offices responsible for grade determination, approvals, and refunds; financial aid administrators (refunds subject to regulation).
Legislative context
- Amends existing statute (C.18A:62-4.2) modernizing the completion threshold and adding flexible academic accommodations (temporary grades; online transfers) while preserving faculty judgment about sufficiency of completed work.
- Multiple committee referrals and amendments (Mental Health; Ways & Means) before substitution by the Senate companion bill S3052 (1R).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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