Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa College Access Act

The Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa College Access Act (HR 7260) provides financial assistance to students from the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to attend college in other U.S. territories or states by covering the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition rates. It authorizes $10 million annually for six years ($10 million each for the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) to be distributed by their governors to eligible public four-year colleges in the U.S. mainland, DC, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Guam. Eligible students must have graduated from a public institution in the Northern Mariana Islands or American Samoa within the past three years and be enrolled in a bachelor’s program at an eligible institution, with a maximum grant of $15,000 per year or $45,000 total. The program requires institutions to use funds to supplement, not replace, existing financial aid for these students and mandates annual reporting on participation and outcomes.