ASSEMBLY PASSES DIEGNAN/LAMPITT BILLENHANCING NJ STARS' STANDARDS, SUSTAINABILITY(TRENTON) - The General Assembly today passed legislation Assembly members Patrick J. Diegnan and Pamela Lampitt sponsored to reform the popular NJ STARS college scholarship programs to strengthen its eligibility standards and ease the financial burden on the state's colleges."As much as NJ STARS has become a source of pride students and their families, the program is at imminent risk of becoming a victim of its own success," said Diegnan (D-Middlesex). "Reserving NJ STARS scholarships for the smartest, hardest working and most deserving students will protect its long-term viability."Diegnan and Lampitt were members of a 12-member task force Gov. Jon S. Corzine convened during the summer to examine the NJ STARS program. The legislation includes many of the group's recommendations to ensure the program's long-term viability.Diegnan and Lampitt noted the task force learned that some NJ STARS recipients need to take remedial courses to bring them up-to-par with their community college classmates. They also said that the costs borne by four-year schools may become crushing as more STARS I graduates seek their bachelors degrees - and could lead to further tuition hikes."With increasing tuitions and the stark reality that some NJ STARS recipients need remedial help, we need to ensure the program does not fall victim to unintended financial consequences at either the state or college levels," said Lampitt (D-Camden). "These reforms are absolutely needed so we don't break our promise to the best-prepared, highest-achieving students that a scholarship will be there for them."Created in 2004, the NJ STARS I scholarship program currently provides full community college scholarships to more than 4,100 students who graduate in the top 20 percent of their high school class. The STARS II program - established in 2006 - extends $4,000 scholarships at any state college or university for roughly 1,200 STARS I participants who graduated with a 3.0 or higher grade point average.Among its provisions, the Diegnan/Lampitt reform legislation (A-3373) would:Enhance the eligibility requirements for NJ STARS I  from the top 20 percent to the top 15 percent of one's high school graduating class;Increase the minimum GPA necessary to qualify for NJ STARS II from 3.0 to 3.25;Limit NJ STARS II funds to cover tuition only with a maximum benefit of $7,000 to be covered equally by the institution and the state;  Enhance the eligibility requirements for NJ STARS I  from the top 20 percent to the top 15 percent of one's high school graduating class;Increase the minimum GPA necessary to qualify for NJ STARS II from 3.0 to 3.25;Limit NJ STARS II funds to cover tuition only with a maximum benefit of $7,000 to be covered equally by the institution and the state;Bifurcate the benefits available per academic year through NJ STARS II based on GPA -- $7,000 for GPA of 3.5 or better, $6,000 for GPA between 3.25 and 3.49;Allow NJ STARS and NJ STARS II students to take more than 15 credits per semester;Place a cap on family income at $250,000."There is no doubt that students who graduate from NJ STARS truly are stars, but we need to ensure that we can help more than just this generation of students," said Lampitt. "We can do right by New Jersey's brightest scholars by ensuring the long-term financial stability of the STARS program," said Diegnan. "Students who excel in school and want to go to college in New Jersey should have every opportunity to do so."The bill passed 65-10 with two abstentions and now heads to the Senate, where it has been posted for a final vote later today.On the Web: www.assemblydems.com