Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CELESTE M. RILEY
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman THOMAS P. GIBLIN
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblyman JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Jasey, Mosquera and Assemblyman Garcia
SYNOPSIS
Directs Secretary of Higher Education to establish a communication and incentive plan to encourage re-enrollment in college; requires Statewide reverse transfer agreement.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning higher education and supplementing chapter 3B and chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Each public institution of higher education, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education and the New Jersey Presidents’ Council, shall establish and enter into by July 1, 2016 a collective Statewide reverse transfer agreement under which at least 30 credits that a student earns at a four-year public institution of higher education in the State toward a baccalaureate degree are transferrable to any county college for credit toward an associate degree.
b. An independent institution of higher education in the State may elect to enter into the agreement.
c. The annual report prepared by the Secretary of Higher Education pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2007, c.175 (C.18A:62-49) shall include an analysis of each institution’s compliance with the provisions of this section.
2. The secretary and each public institution of higher education shall develop and implement incentives for students to obtain an associate degree prior to enrolling in a four-year public institution of higher education.
3. Each four-year public institution of higher education shall dedicate a portion of its institutional financial aid to provide financial assistance to resident undergraduate students who transfer with an associate degree from a county college in the State.
4. a. As used in this section, “near completer” means an individual who resides in the State and who has completed some college credits but has not attained a college degree and is no longer attending an institution of higher education.
b. The Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the public institutions of higher education, shall create a Statewide communication campaign to identify near completers and to encourage them to re-enroll in a degree program in an institution of higher education. The communication campaign shall:
(1) make use of a variety of marketing media including billboards, brochures, and electronic resources;
(2) provide a centralized contact point for near completers to obtain information about and assistance with re-enrollment;
(3) make readily available contact information for each public institution of higher education; and
(4) focus on near completers who,
(a) earned a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a scale of 4.0 while enrolled in college; and
(b) earned at least 45 credit hours if enrolled in a county college, or at least 90 credit hours if enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education.
c. The secretary shall develop and implement a plan that provides an incentive to:
(1) a near completer to re-enroll and earn a degree; and
(2) a public institution of higher education to identify and graduate near completers.
The incentive plan shall use all available resources including institutional funds, private sector funds, and State funds.
d. The secretary and public institutions of higher education may implement other near completer initiatives in addition to those required pursuant to subsections b. and c. of this section.
e. The secretary shall submit a report by December 1, 2014 to the Governor and to the Senate Higher Education Committee and the Assembly Higher Education Committee, or their successor committees, that outlines the details of the Statewide communication campaign and the incentive plan, including the timeline for implementation.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs each public institution of higher education, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education and the New Jersey Presidents’ Council, to establish and enter into a Statewide reverse transfer agreement under which at least 30 credits that a student earns at a four-year public institution of higher education toward a baccalaureate degree are transferrable to any county college for credit toward an associate degree An independent institution may elect to enter into the agreement. The State currently has a Statewide transfer agreement in accordance with legislation adopted in 2007 that provides for the seamless transfer of academic credits to a baccalaureate degree program from a completed associate of arts, associate of science, or associate in technical studies degree program. The bill provides that the annual report that is currently prepared by the Secretary of Higher Education on the Statewide transfer agreement must also include an analysis of each institution’s compliance with the Statewide reverse transfer agreement.
The bill also: 1) directs each public institution of higher education to develop and implement incentives for students to obtain an associate degree prior to enrolling in a four-year public institution; and 2) provides that each four-year public institution dedicate a portion of its institutional financial aid to provide assistance to resident undergraduate students who transfer to the four-year institution with an associate degree from a county college located in the State.
The bill also directs the Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the public institutions of higher education, to create a Statewide communication campaign to identify individuals who have “nearly completed” college and to encourage them to re-enroll in an institution of higher education. The campaign will focus on individuals who earned a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a scale of 4.0 while enrolled in college; and earned at least 45 credits if enrolled in a county college or at least 90 credits if enrolled in a four-year institution. The secretary is also directed to develop and implement a plan that provides an incentive for such individuals to re-enroll in college, and for a public institution to identify and graduate them.
The bill directs the secretary to submit a report by December 1, 2014 to the Governor and the Senate and Assembly Higher Education Committees that outlines the details of the Statewide communication campaign and the incentive plan.