NJ Higher Education Fast Facts

Student Population:

Total students, Fall 2009 ................................................................................................. 102,186

Total undergraduate students, Fall 2009 ....................................................................  87,723

Students residing on campus, Fall 2009 ....................................................................  20,370

Total graduate and professional students, Fall 2009 ............................................... 14,463

Total undergraduate students (full/part-time) by race/ethnicity/origin*, Fall 2008: 

    White (Caucasian) ........................................................................................... 59%
    Hispanic ............................................................................................................. 14%
    Black (African-American) ................................................................................. 13%
    Asian ....................................................................................................................   5%
    Race Unspecified ..............................................................................................   7%
    Foreign ..................................................................................................................  2%
* (The Association acknowledges that these categories overlap and that many
students do not identify themselves as being of a single racial or ethnic group.)

Total undergraduate student population by gender, Fall 2008:
    Women ............................................................................................ 55%
    Men ...................................................................................................45%

Academic Awards:
    Total degrees awarded, Academic Year 2008-2009:
    Bachelor's (45% of state's total) ................................. 15,908
    Master's ............................................................................ 3,292
    Associate's .......................................................................... 454
    Doctoral ................................................................................. 54

Alumni:
    Estimated state college alumni ..................................................................................................... 519,990
    (Figure double-counts individuals who got degrees from more than one state college/university.)
    Estimated alumni known to reside in New Jersey...................................................................... 363,887
    (Actual figure may be significantly higher.)

Faculty & Staff:
    Total full-time faculty at eight traditional institutions (Academic Year 2008-2009) ....................   2,787
    Number of employees (combined full/part-time, excluding adjuncts).......................................... 10,085

Finances:

    FY 2010 Estimated aggregate general operations budgets
    (excluding state-paid employee benefits)........................................................................ $1,413,587,000
    FY 2010 Aggregate direct state adjusted appropriations................................................. $272,985,000
    State grants/scholarships (including TAG, GSA & EOF) received by
    state college/university undergraduates FY 2009...............................................................$290,070,642^▲
 

        *Sources: New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA);
                            Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF).

^▲ Including funds from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and prior to February 2010 announcement by the governor of $17 million in mid-year cuts.

HOW ARE THE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS OF NEW JERSEY ARRAYED? 
In New Jersey, higher education is arrayed in various segments and includes the group of nine state colleges and universities (The College of New Jersey, Kean University, Montclair State University, New Jersey City University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Rowan University, Thomas Edison State College and William Paterson University); three public research universities (New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, and Rutgers University); nineteen county colleges (community colleges); and fourteen independent colleges and universities.  Higher education also includes several proprietary institutions and special purpose religious institutions.

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY CONTROL AND
COORDINATE THE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES? 
New Jersey colleges and universities are governed by institutional trustee boards and are coordinated through the NJ Commission on Higher Education with advice from the NJ Presidents' Council and others.  State college and university trustee boards are composed of lay citizens of the Garden State appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate.  Trustees serve six-year terms, which may be renewed.  They are not paid for this.

WHY DON'T ALL THE STATE'S COLLEGES HAVE THE SAME POLICIES AND PRACTICES? 
Rather than being part of a system governed by a single board and a set of rules, in New Jersey, four-year public higher education institutions are highly autonomous.  The latter is an American tradition associated with educational excellence.  This has been the case for the state colleges and universities since the 1985-1986 autonomy laws, which were strengthened by the restructuring of higher education in 1994.  Local trustee boards, which were created in 1966, today have a great deal of latitude in determining institutional policy and mission in service to the residents of the State of New Jersey.

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF ONE SCHOOL'S POLICIES OR PRACTICES ARE UNIQUE? 
Check with other colleges.  Regarding the nine state colleges and universities, check with the NJ Association of State Colleges and Universities.  You can also check with the Commission on Higher Education.  Other sources include the national higher education associations in Washington, DC such as American Association of State Colleges and Universities (policy issues) and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (governance).  The county colleges and independent colleges also have state policy/advocacy offices.

WHY IS RUTGERS NOT A MEMBER OF THE STATE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION? 
Its history and law sets it apart from the nine state colleges/universities.  Six of the latter began as teacher training institutions, originally called "normal schools."  Rutgers started out as a church-related private (independent) school, later became a public institution and a multi-campus research university.  The nine state colleges/universities, Rutgers/NJIT and UMDNJ (which together make up New Jersey twelve senior public institutions) are governed by similar but different sets of laws, and separate boards of trustees.

WHO NEGOTIATES EMPLOYEE SALARIES AND BENEFITS AT THE STATE COLLEGES/ UNIVERSITIES?  WHO PAYS THE COST OF WHAT IS NEGOTIATED? 
Labor's interests are served by unions.  The NJ Council of State College Locals AFT/AFL-CIO is the faculty's bargaining unit.  Management is represented by the NJ Governor's Office of Employee Relations (OER), with state college/university representatives on the management negotiation team.  The state pays benefits and in principle should pay in full state negotiated salary increases for employees.  Concerning state mandated pay increases, typically it pays only part of such increases, and often zero percent, thereby passing the cost of raises on to colleges.    Institutions must make up any difference.   For details, see the State College Sourcebook.

CAN STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ACCEPT PRIVATE DONATIONS? 
CAN DONORS SPECIFY HOW FUNDS ARE USED? 
Yes.  The degree of self-governance trustee boards have and the existence of institutional foundations allows state colleges/universities to have a great deal of freedom to encourage private contributions and allow donors to dedicate gifts.

ACADEMIC & ADMISSIONS

WHICH OF THE ABOVE SEGMENTS AWARD THE GREATEST NUMBER OF BACHELOR'S DEGREES?  The nine state colleges and universities, serving about 85,000 undergraduates annually are the leading source of bachelor's degrees in New Jersey.  With about 40,000 undergraduate students, the Rutgers University campuses are the next largest segment.  Annually, the state colleges and universities award about 16,000 bachelor's degrees.  

DOES EVERYONE WHO APPLIES TO A STATE COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY GET ACCEPTED?
No.  Admissions are competitive, but many who apply do get in.  Each public four-year institution has its own standards and unique set of applicants.  For typical requirements, see 2009 State College/University Accountability Sourcebook (page 28).   Today more applicants qualified are being turned away.  Typically, about one-half of the applications to the freshman class at New Jersey state colleges result in an offer of admission.

WILL FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES ACCEPT CREDITS FROM A COURSE TAKEN AT A TWO-YEAR COLLEGE? 
More than ever, this is the case especially now with a clear agreement between the New Jersey state colleges and New Jersey community colleges, supported by legislation.  When there is a good match between the learning objectives of a beginning (lower-level) course at a two-year college and advance courses at senior colleges; they are said to be "well-articulated."  Look for colleges that partner with other colleges to help satisfy advanced degree requirements.

COSTS

WHO ACTUALLY SETS TUITION AT THE STATE COLLEGES? 
Trustee boards set tuition based on anticipated costs of educational operations over the years ahead.  Before making a decision, they are required by law to hold open public hearings to allow comment from students and the general public.

WHAT IS THE ACTUAL COST OF EDUCATION AT A STATE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY FOR A FULL TIME STUDENT? 
How much of that is covered by tuition?  How much is paid by the state?  What is the cost for students to go to a state college full-time, including fees, room and board?  In tuition and fees, full-time students pay close to half of the $16,000 per year cost of delivering education (about $8,300).  The state also pays about half.  Full-time residential students pay, besides tuition, about $13,000 in room, board, books and other costs per academic year.  Full-time tuition and fees, plus room and board and other academic costs total about $24,000 per year.

DOES THE PUBLIC TEND TO UNDERESTIMATE OR OVERESTIMATE THE COST OF TUITION? 
The public tends to overestimate the cost of tuition significantly for all categories of colleges, according to polls conducted by the American Council on Education.