Opinion:  New Jersey Public Colleges and Universities Headed in the Right Direction

 

NJ.com
The Times of Trenton
Darryl G. Greer
December 11, 2011

 

The New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities strongly endorses the report, recognizing that certain issues surrounding graduate medical/nursing education deserve further study.  The Association supports timely implementation of the recommendations and advocates the following principles in support of the report.

 

Even so, the Governor's Task Force on Higher Education, led by former Gov. Kean, reported last year that much more can be done to serve the state and its citizens.

 

A baseline area of inquiry often posed in public opinion polls goes like this: "Is the state (or nation) headed in the right or wrong direction?"

 

To properly answer this kind of inquiry for higher education in New Jersey, we must look at four key questions: "Who has the opportunity to go to college?" "Who pays for it, and how?" "Who should govern public institutions, and how accountable are they?" And finally, "Do citizens value the public colleges, which are held in public trust?" My scorecard follows: 

 

Right direction: Broad access to college. The state's colleges and universities remain deeply committed to college opportunity for all people.

 

During the past 26 years, the state's nine state colleges and universities have expanded their service while staying true to their mission -- enrolling and graduating a larger and more diverse student population. But we must do more to serve today's college population, which includes a greater proportion of adults, recent immigrants and first-generation students. It is imperative that we integrate information systems that track school completion and college entrance rates and graduates' work force readiness. (A state-level task force is already under way.) We must transform successful state and college financial aid and equal opportunity programs to meet new objectives in a different era. 

 

Wrong direction: Paying for college. College and state leaders are quite aware that this policy failure must be remedied soon. Even before the current global economic downturn, New Jersey failed to invest adequately in higher education to expand capacity in order to keep talented citizens in-state, maintain and improve quality and support top-notch faculty, facilities and technology. Someone has to pay for quality higher education. In our state, this burden falls too much to students and their families. NJASCU polls reflect what citizens already know: They pay too large a share of the cost -- up to 70 percent vs. about 30 percent two decades ago.

 

Students and families will continue to pay a large share of college costs, but we can reduce the rate of tuition increases and the weight of the cost burden. Beyond a critical need for state reinvestment, colleges need new financial models that sustain the educational core, help to enhance productivity and encourage new partnerships to meet educational and state strategic needs.

 

The answer is not just more money; it is also finding new ways of structuring colleges' service delivery systems and freeing up talent to find new innovative means to fulfill educational missions. 

 

Right direction: Colleges' accountability and ability to govern themselves effectively. New Jersey stands out nationally for placing policy accountability with the institutions' boards of trustees. Many other states, facing strong demand and constrained revenue, are seeking ways to free public colleges from regulation so they can be more effective. New Jersey is a leader. State colleges' progress since the mid-1980s could not have happened without this investment in trustee autonomy and differentiation in institutions' missions.

 

We should continue to strengthen boards by granting colleges more freedom from outdated regulation regarding purchasing, construction, business collaboration and labor contracts.

 

Mixed signals: Value and public trust. NJASCU-sponsored scientific polls indicate that New Jerseyans value their state colleges and universities and think they are quality institutions, worthy of investment. However, they are uncertain about the institutions' ability to keep college affordable and to connect better to work force needs.  

 

Too few opinion leaders, including many elected officials, have a comprehensive understanding of the value of public higher education. Responsibility for advancing higher education falls to higher education leaders.  We must communicate better about learning outcomes and how they relate to career success and civic leadership in credible ways. This requires candid conversations with leaders and citizens based on sound principles and common goals.

 

As I move to Richard Stockton College as a senior fellow, I will work with others to bring sharper focus to these four big-picture matters. 

 

Darryl Greer, Ph.D., will retire as CEO of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities (www.njascu.org) December 31. The Association's nine members are 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.