| |
New Jersey College Promise
Visit our new website on the campaign for college
productivity, access and affordability.
The New Jersey College
Promise
www.njcollegepromise.com
The
Association has launched a campaign called New Jersey College Promise. The
goals of the effort include helping the state colleges/universities gain greater
control over cost to keep tuition affordable; increasing their ability to serve
more New Jerseyans; and strengthening accountability and public trust. We
hope the project will result in a renewed public agenda for state college higher
education. The New Jersey College Promise will reflect that New Jersey's
state colleges and universities are dedicated to serving our citizens and
willing to hold themselves accountable to the citizens they serve.
Elements of this effort include the following:
-
Engaging
independent expert consultants to examine rigorously state
college/university cost structures for the purpose of gaining greater
efficiency to help keep college affordable, citizens' biggest concerns.
-
Convening
a group of national experts on higher education and individuals from outside
of higher education to examine the benefits and means of improving
nonpartisan, lay citizen trustee-governed institutions; to protect public
colleges from political intrusion; to identify policy that will increase
college affordability and access; and to promote innovation, change and
public accountability.
-
Consulting
experts from New Jersey state government, business, labor and higher
education to study and recommend where state policy and regulation needs to
be changed to assist the colleges and universities in being more efficient
and effective in serving their missions and the state.
-
Commissioning
scientific opinion polls to learn what New Jerseyans think and to test
public support for solutions to college affordability that can be
implemented.
-
Hosting
forums on higher education to make New Jersey the national leader in college
access, affordability and accountability in the 21st century.
-
Making
specific annual policy recommendations to the governor, legislature and
others to achieve the Promise; and keeping all parties informed regarding
succeeding on this agenda.
-
Building
effective communication strategies, including using internet technology to
inform a broader constituency for public higher education, to bridge the gap
between opinion and policy action to achieve the "Promise" agenda.
The
state colleges and universities cannot achieve this promise alone. They
belong to New Jersey, and its future. We need help from many earnest
citizens and leaders who want to improve higher education. The Association
looks forward to working with others to make "The Promise" a reality
in the Garden State.
12
Critical Facts About the Condition of the
State
Colleges
and Universities
| Fact 1 |
New Jersey state colleges and universities
rank nationally #3 in productivity for baccalaureate/masters institutions |
| Fact 2 |
Over 90% of state college/university students
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 |
Higher education’s share of total state budget has declined by almost
one-half since
FY 1983 to 5.4% from 9.8%
|
| Fact 5 |
With declining state investment, students’ share of educational costs
has risen to over 50%, from about 30%, since FY 1990.
|
| Fact 6 |
The share of family disposable income needed to pay for college has risen
to 15%, from 9%, since FY 1991.
|
| Fact 7 |
Underfunding of state-negotiated contracts since FY 1997 amounts to $145
million absorbed by the colleges/universities, or passed on to students in the
form of higher tuition and fees. For
FY 2008 unfunded salary mandates will cost the nine institutions about $20
million.
|
| 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 (top 5) 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 |
Public confidence in
New Jersey
’s ability to reform service to citizens
through state regulation is waning. A
2005 scientific poll indicates that New Jerseyans trust nonpartisan boards of
trustees of each institution, by a 4 to 1 margin, over state government, to
oversee new investment in higher education.
A 2007 poll results are pending. 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 45th 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).
|
|
