STOCKTON COLLEGE ON BOARD WITH GOVERNOR CHRISTIES PROPOSED BUDGET
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Atlantic County- Governor Christie is focusing on making higher education more available and affordable for families in New Jersey, something one local college President is on board with.

"We must continue to fund higher education, and to make it more available to everyone with the brains and ambition to climb that ladder to success" says Governor Chris Christie.

After focusing on cutting budgets for the last two years, Governor Christie expressed nothing but enthusiasm towards higher education in New Jersey, announcing that his budget will propose a nearly 6% increase in direct aid to the states public colleges and universities.

"That is a positive feature for us because we have had such a decline in support over the last several years, and that will help us restore where we may have been a year or two ago" says Herman Saatkamp Jr., President, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

Christie went on to address students in New Jersey's inner cities, asking for one million dollars to help create a new Governor's urban scholarship program with a simple mission.

"To help provide students in New Jersey's inner cities the opportunity they need to succeed" says Governor Christie.

"We have not paid that much attention to inner city students, and as a result we are losing a lot of talented people who can't afford to go to college, that live in inner city areas. I think this is one of the highlights of the Governor's address" says Saatkamp.

The budget also proposes an increase of over 28 million dollars more then last year for student financial assistance. Most of that is a 10% increase in funding for tuition and grants, guaranteed money for students.

"That is absolutely essential, one of the powerful features the Governor addressed. That money is going directly to students and it's assistance to students that are grants, not loans" says Saatkamp.

Officials say New Jersey accounts for 1/3 of the one hundred thousand students in the nation that go outside of the state for their college education. But President Saatkamp believes the Governors propose budget will finally help turn those numbers around.

"I like what the Governor had to say, I like the response from legislators, and I think people are now beginning to see that Stockton College and higher education in New Jersey is absolutely essential for the New Jersey comeback" says Saatkamp.