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

2007 Public Opinion Polling

Seven out of ten New Jersey likely voters say state colleges deliver a good or excellent education, according to a recent Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates poll.  However, many are not convinced that the state colleges and universities are affordable:  51% say they are but 36% say they are not.

Voters also say state colleges deliver high value for the dollar invested.  Greater than six out of ten (63%) say they deliver more value than private colleges and universities.   

The telephone poll was sponsored by ASCU and conducted in May 2007 with 655 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.83 at the 95% confidence level (larger for subgroups).

The poll also revealed that New Jersey residents may be getting much more out of the investment in state colleges and universities than they realize.  Less than one out of six of those polled correctly responded that over 90% of the institutions' students are state residents.

Affordability Trend Tied to State Funding, Personnel Costs. 

Nearly 60% of likely voters say that college is less affordable than it was 2-3 years ago.  When asked about the primary cause, the most frequent response was "cuts in state funding."  Other common responses included faculty, staff and administrative salaries and increased spending in other areas, such as technology.

The poll also did not indicate any clear mandate for some cost cutting measures at state colleges.  Asked separately about each of these ideas, only 21% strongly support using more part-time faculty and fewer full-time faculty; only 19% strongly support "not improving campus facilities as often," and only 19% strongly support allowing larger classes.

Voters See Room for Improvement in Spending.

One of the goals of the poll was to ascertain whether the image of the state colleges and universities has been tarnished by various state scandals and allegations of corruption.  The poll reveals that 61% of likely voters say the institutions are well managed, and only 18% say they are not well managed.

Nonpartisan Board Control is Favored.

While expressing concerns about public college and university accountability, likely voters say greater involvement by Trenton will result in more, not less, political intrusion by a margin greater than 5:1.  They are also more likely to select nonpartisan trustee boards over state agencies when it comes to higher education spending: when asked whom they would entrust with spending new funds wisely, they selected nonpartisan trustee boards over state agencies by an 8:1 margin, and over the governor and legislature by a 6:1 margin.

Capacity Concerns

Asked about support for more dorms: 60% said this is an "important" matter, including 21% who thought it a "very important" matter.  New Jersey currently ranks 45th among the 50 states in enrollment per capita at four-year public colleges and universities.

The Association is sharing the information about voter views as part of a broad-based effort to promote New Jersey College Promise across the state.

2005 Public Opinion Polling

Two surveys conducted for ASCU in 2005 by the Washington, DC office of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates have concluded that New Jersey voters favor a $2-3 billion higher education bond referendum to provide more college opportunity.  Seven of ten say they trust institutions' governing boards to decide how to best use bond funds.

They strongly agree that it is important for the State of New Jersey to provide more higher education opportunity for students from low and middle income families, attract more of the state's best students, and provide top-notch academic facilities.

For details on the results of the latest poll (September 20-26, 2005) of 770 residents who said they were likely to vote in the November 2005 election, click here.

For details on the results of the June/July 2005 poll of 810 likely voters, click here.