Higher Education Budget Disappointing to State Colleges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Darryl G. Greer, CEO (609) 989-1100
Paul R. Shelly, Director of Communications & Marketing
(609) 989-1100 work; (609) 538-1978 home; (610) 504-7271 cell

Trenton, July 1, 2011 – The FY 2012 State Budget for higher education, signed into law June 30, is very disappointing according to Dr. Darryl G. Greer, an advocate for the nine state colleges and universities and their 105,000 students.  “This spending plan, without a doubt, is another setback for college opportunity and affordability.”

“As with many budgets over the past decade, this one fails to make higher education a funding priority; it continues disinvestment in college opportunity and places greater pressure on colleges to sustain quality service without appropriate state investment,” says Greer, long-time CEO of New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities (NJASCU).

The budget results in significant cuts to college funding for personnel and less than proposed funding for student aid.

 For example, while the specific effect of the budget must be studied by each institution, major cuts are as follows:

 ¨       A reduction and transfer in fringe benefit cost for roughly 400 state-funded state college and university staff positions, costing the colleges many millions of dollars.  Without prior consultation, these funds are especially difficult to make up in already tight college budgets.

¨       A rollback to current funding of a proposed increase of over $40 million for the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) and no new funding for Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) programs, supporting New Jersey’s lower income students.

 ¨       A revision of a proposed change in the STARS II scholarship program for students transferring to state colleges from county colleges, resulting in senior colleges and universities being required to continue to subsidize scholarship payments.

 Greer noted that the timing of the New Jersey budget decision not to invest more in public colleges exacerbates making good policy choices to protect and expand college opportunity in New Jersey.  “Significant reductions in the cornerstone federal student aid program, Pell Grants, are currently being debated in Congress, even as the economy demands getting more low- and middle-income students into college.”

Greer says that its member colleges/universities will work hard to minimize negative effects of the budget cuts on New Jersey families and students, and will collaborate with others to build a strong case for a bold plan to revitalize investment in higher education, one that serves the best interests of our citizens and a state strategic agenda.