New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities committed to college opportunity for new jersey citizens

150 West State Street, Trenton, New Jersey 08608                       609-989-1100     609-989-7017 fax                   njascu@njascu.org

Darryl G. Greer, Ph.D.

This could be the year that New Jersey public's support of investing in higher education solidifies.  Four years ago, the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities sponsored public opinion polls that probed concerns about college access and examined residents' views on expanding the capacity of the state colleges and universities.  We reported, through the news media, that there is wide support for increasing the number of students the state's public four-year colleges and universities could serve.  Then, in 2001, we sponsored a follow-up poll, which confirmed our 1999 study.

Still, not everyone was ready to hear the public's concern or do something about it.  That was then.  This year, we have seen, and have helped inform, regular news coverage and editorial opinion on the increasingly urgent need to do something about increasing our colleges' enrollment capacity.  The capacity issue is not just about expanding college facilities; it is principally about who gets access to high-value public college education.  It is about New Jersey's future.

This topic came up at legislative budget hearings.  It was the focus of a special conference conducted by the Public Policy Center/New Jersey Reporter.  It is the central issue being dealt with in the N.J. Commission on Higher Education's long-range planning process.  While the spotlights are on, the action has not commenced.

Of course, the Garden State's huge budget problems temporarily focused everyone's attention on more immediate problems.  In higher education, as many know, we faced large cuts.  Thus, we spent a great deal of time mobilizing support for a budget restoration.  with the help of friends in the Legislature, and the support of the governor, there was a major restoration of higher education's proposed cuts.

The operating funds restored came with an acceptable caveat: colleges not increase tuition more than 9 percent for the coming academic year.

The restoration we received was enough to allow New Jersey state colleges' tuition increases to be far less than in other states where budget shortfalls have led to breathtaking increases: 28 percent at New York state universities and 25 percent to 30 percent at California state institutions.

While not overcoming the entire budget reduction from last year, the restoration turned a 12 percent reduction to a 6 percent reduction.  This is certainly a move in the right direction and better for all concerned.  A Star Ledger/Eagleton poll conducted earlier this year, and a Quinnipac College poll released more recently, showed that the New Jersey public does not believe large cuts in funding for higher education is an acceptable way of balancing the state budget.

Still, there is this other growing problem.  The years 2008 and 2009 will be peak years for the sheer number of New Jersey high school graduates.  Demand will reach a level this state has never known.  

Let it suffice that we now have more than 20,000 students seeking fewer than 10,000 full-time freshmen slots at our eight traditional schools:  Kean University, Montclair State University, New Jersey City University, Ramapo College, Richard Stockton College, Rowan University, The College of New Jersey, and William Paterson University.  Meanwhile, Thomas Edison State College, our other member institution, is absorbing some of the current growth in demand from adult students.

For now, the state colleges and universities will manage through tough times, trimming costs wherever they can.  These places of learning will stay strong educationally and remain key partners in New Jersey's economic and professional work-force development.

A major, voter-approved, facilities bond issue is one of the significant decisions necessary to assure our high school graduates the New Jersey college opportunity they deserve.  The public can expect to hear more in the months ahead as we, in higher education, present our case.

I believe that the public has already begun to form its judgment about whether New Jersey needs to invest big in making room for more students, keeping college affordable and providing modern facilities.

If our research findings are accurate, instead of uncertainty or ambivalence, there is going to be overwhelming support for a long-term state investment in college opportunity.