Heldrich Report Examines Effect of New Jersey TAG Program

July 29, 2025

Researchers from the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development analyzed the impact of financial aid on student success.

A new report, Building a Comparison Group for Tuition Aid Grant Recipients Using the New Jersey Statewide Data System, examines the effect of the New Jersey Tuition Aid Grant program on college graduation. Results from the analysis showed that the New Jersey Tuition Aid Grant program positively affects graduation outcomes among first-time, full-time matriculated students, and include comparisons of graduation rates based on demographic characteristics and participation in developmental coursework.

The report was written by Heldrich Center staff Khudodod Khudododov, Ph.D., Research Project Manager, and Ahmad Salman Zafar, former Research Assistant.

About NJSDS

The New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS), formerly the New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System (NJEEDS), is the State of New Jersey’s centralized longitudinal data system for public administrative data. Through coordination with partnering state agencies, NJSDS is a large statewide interagency and intergovernmental platform where data from participating agencies are securely stored to expand access and analysis to improve governance efforts, policymaking, and performance of public initiatives.

NJSDS aims to help the public and stakeholders make data-informed decisions to improve public policies and practices for New Jersey residents. This includes facilitating longitudinal and linked-data research, providing statistical data, and publishing reports on the NJSDS website.

Recent Posts

Mi Shih Recognized with GPEIG Best Journal Article Award

Mi Shih, Ph.D., Associate Professor and director of the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program, was recognized with the Global Planning Educators’ Interest Group’s (GPEIG) 2025 award for the best journal article. The award honors outstanding, peer-reviewed...

Building Capacity to Support New Jersey Autism Professionals

Building Capacity to Support New Jersey Autism Professionals: A Workforce Study and Multi-state Comparative Landscape of Policies and Practices Daniel Rosario, Josephine O’Grady, Lily McFarland, Peter Walter, Ryne Kremer, Sean Nguyen, and Wun-cian Lin for Autism New...

Dr. Rushing Talks About AI for Sickle Cell and Beyond

Dr. Melinda Rushing recently appeared on the podcast Zora Talks. In this podcast, Dr. Rushing breaks down what sickle cell really is, why it disproportionately affects people of color, and how her team is developing a new approach called Clinically Guided AI to...

NJSPL: Increasing Enrollment of Paid Family Leave

The Increasing Enrollment of Paid Family Leave for Parents in the U.S. Over the past 10 years, many U.S. states have implemented mandatory paid family leave policies to help address the lack of such policy on the national level. In this post, we examine how paid...