NEWARK -- Low-income Newark students and county college graduates have a new way attend Rutgers tuition-free.

The Rutgers-Newark campus last week announced the "RU-N to the TOP" program, Rutgers' latest attempt to recruit students and curb the rising cost of college.

Beginning next fall, the university is offering to cover tuition and fees for Newark residents who are accepted at Rutgers-Newark and have a household income of $60,000 or less.

The school will make the same offer to low-income students statedwide who transfer to Rutgers-Newark after earning an associate's degree from one of the state's county colleges.

Students from low-income families already receive state and federal grants, and Rutgers will make up the difference in tuition and fees, which cost about $13,600 this year at Rutgers-Newark.

The university also announced it will cover the cost of room and board for all students who are accepted into its new honors living-learning community on the Newark campus.

With the new scholarships, Rutgers is planting a stake in the ground for college affordability for city and state residents, said Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers-Newark.

"We are saying to the young people of the city of Newark and our great state: We see your talent. We honor your talent. We want you to learn with us, and we want to learn from you," Cantor said.

Rutgers-Newark is following in the footsteps of Rutgers-Camden, which announced scholarships for low-income students earlier this year.

Rutgers-Cadmen will cover tuition and fees for all New Jersey students from households earning $60,000 or less. Those from families with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000 will have 50 percent of their costs for tuition and fees covered by Rutgers.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.