New Jersey Pay It Forward Program Expands Support to Two New Healthcare Training Programs

New partnership with Rowan College at Burlington County to help nurses complete training; Partnership with Hudson County Community College now includes the Radiography program

(Mount Laurel and Jersey City, NJ) — Today, the New Jersey Pay It Forward Program announced that it will now provide financial support to students enrolled in two additional high-quality training programs: the Nursing program at Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) and the Radiography program at Hudson County Community College (HCCC). Launched in 2022, the New Jersey Pay It Forward Program—a partnership between Governor Phil Murphy, the State of New Jersey, the NJ CEO Council, and Social Finance—is a first-in-the-nation workforce fund to prepare New Jersey residents for in-demand, career-track jobs in industries like healthcare, IT, and clean energy. The program aims to help participants find jobs while also helping employers fill in-demand positions in high-growth sectors to promote economic growth in New Jersey.

The New Jersey Pay It Forward Program provides zero-interest, no-fee loans to qualifying students enrolled in high-quality job training programs across the state. Recipients pay no upfront costs and receive living stipends and supportive services, including access to emergency aid funds and mental health counseling, to help them succeed. After completing training, if participants earn above a minimum salary, they pay back their loans through monthly repayments of 10% of their discretionary income for up to five years. If they do not earn more than the minimum salary, they pay nothing. Participants do not have to pay back their living stipends or the costs of supportive services.

“We are excited to be able to expand the list of high-quality healthcare training pathways eligible for the New Jersey Pay It Forward Program,” said Hydie Kim Hudson, VP of Impact Investments at Social Finance. “In addition to the nursing program at HCCC, these new programs will help more students gain the skills they need to access careers in healthcare. With the living stipend and other resources to help navigate any challenges that arise, the program is meant to help students persist and graduate ready to enter one of the state’s most in-demand industries and help to fill job shortages for local New Jersey employers.”

RCBC offers a two-year professional program leading to an Associate of Applied Science of Nursing degree. During the program, students receive hands-on training through classroom activities, simulation labs, and clinical practice in local partner healthcare facilities. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates who pass their NCLEX-RN licensing exam are also eligible to continue their final year with Rowan University to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, which can be completed online while a graduate is working as an RN. In 2023, over 96% of program graduates passed the NCLEX-RN the first time taking the exam and 97% of program graduates who responded to an employment survey reported they were employed in the nursing field within one year of graduation, with a median salary of $86,000 per year.

“Students should not have to mortgage their future to pay for their education. The New Jersey Pay It Forward Program helps students to pay for the upfront costs of college while they train for an in-demand job,” said RCBC President Dr. Michael A. Cioce, whose higher education career began in Financial Aid. “I’m grateful for the partnership between New Jersey Pay It Forward Program and Rowan College at Burlington County, and to RCBC’s Health Sciences Dean Dr. Karen Montalto and our Financial Aid team for all their hard work to make this option available to our students.”

HCCC, which currently partners with the New Jersey Pay It Forward Program to train nurses, is expanding its existing partnership to include the two-year professional program leading to an Associate of Science in Radiography. Students will be taught to perform x-rays and other diagnostic imaging examinations to help uncover health problems and save lives.

“We are proud to have worked with Social Finance as an inaugural partner in the New Jersey Pay It Forward Program, and grateful this new funding will allow us to add our Radiography program,” said HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber. “Pay It Forward plays a pivotal role in helping ensure HCCC students have a pathway to a career with family-sustaining wages in healthcare. This expansion will allow us to train even more medical imaging professionals who are essential to diagnosing medical conditions and improving the health of our neighbors in Hudson County.”

Students who successfully complete the program will be eligible to sit for the ARRT national examination to demonstrate their competency in over 50 radiological examinations and become Board certified by the State of New Jersey Bureau of Radiological Health. In 2022, the students of HCCC Radiography program had a 100% completion rate, 100% ARRT pass rate, and 100% job placement rate into careers in radiologic technology, with a median salary of $75,000 per year.

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About Social Finance

Social Finance (SF Advisors, LLC) is a national nonprofit and registered investment advisor. We work with the public, private, and social sectors to create partnerships and investments that measurably improve lives. Our Impact Investment team designs, launches, and manages impact-first investments. Our Advisory team partners with government and philanthropy leaders to implement data-driven programs for social impact. And through the Social Finance Institute, we aim to build the field and change systems through actionable research, communities of practice, and educational outreach. Since our founding in 2011, we have mobilized more than $400 million in new investments designed to help people and communities realize improved outcomes in workforce and economic mobility, health, and housing. Learn more at socialfinance.org.