| Fact 1
| New Jersey state colleges and universities rank nationally #3 in productivity for baccalaureate/masters institutions
|
| Fact 2
| About 95% of undergraduates at the
eight traditional state colleges and universities
are New Jerseyans. During the past decade, minority enrollment, full-time enrollment, and residential enrollment, and retention and graduation rates have increased despite declining state support.
|
| Fact 3
| Major gifts and grants to the state colleges and universities have increased significantly, with some of the largest in the institutions’ history received recently.
|
| Fact 4
| An analysis conducted by National
Association of State Budget Officers in the middle
of this decade found that, on average, states devote
10.5% of their budget to higher education, whereas
New Jersey devotes only 7.5%. |
| Fact 5
| With declining state investment, students’ share of educational costs has risen to
about 60%, from about 30%, since FY 1990.
|
| Fact 6
| The share of family disposable income needed to pay for college has risen to
over 16%, from 9%, since FY 1991.
|
| Fact 7
| Underfunding of state-negotiated contracts since FY 1997 amounts to
about $210 million absorbed by the
colleges/universities, or passed on to students in
the form of higher tuition and fees.
|
| Fact 8
| New Jersey has no capital budget for higher education facilities. No significant general obligation bond investment has been passed since 1988.
|
| Fact 9
| Tuition is among the highest in the nation (#2) because of the absence of capital funding and the state’s failure to pay for mandated costs, especially the full cost of labor contracts.
|
| Fact 10
| New Jersey state colleges and universities have among the highest debt service in the nation – yet high bond rating; and bond agencies find the debt to be well managed. Bond raters’ biggest concern is state regulation that could turn back the clock on responsible enrollment and financial policy set by boards of trustees.
|
| Fact 11
| The public has confidence in state
college trustee boards. A 2005 scientific poll
indicates that New Jerseyans trust nonpartisan
boards of trustees of each institution, by a
four-to-one margin, over state government, to
oversee new investment in higher education. A
follow-up poll in 2007 found that likely voters, by
a five-to-one margin, say greater involvement by
Trenton will result in more, not
less political intrusion. |
| Fact 12
| New Jersey ranks 46th in the nation in public college/university admission capacity (undergraduate seats) to serve its citizens, partially accounting for New Jersey ranking 1st nationally in net loss of college bound students (close to 30,000 annually).
This net loss costs New Jersey as much as $6.0
billion per year, in ASCU's estimation. |
