Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes reciprocal agreements with other states for academic credit transfer and directs public institutions of higher education to enter into such agreements.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the transfer of academic credits and supplementing 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. The Secretary of Higher Education is authorized to enter into a reciprocal agreement with the higher education department or other corresponding entity of any other state or with a person authorized to act on behalf of the agency, for the creation of a credit transfer agreement that provides for the seamless transfer of academic credits to an associate or baccalaureate degree program in either state.
b. Each public institution of higher education shall enter into a credit transfer agreement established pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that the Secretary of Higher Education is authorized to enter into a reciprocal agreement with the higher education department or other corresponding entity of any other state or with a person authorized to act on behalf of the agency, for the creation of a credit transfer agreement that provides for the seamless transfer of academic credits to an associate or baccalaureate degree program in either state. The bill also directs each public institution of higher education to enter into a credit transfer agreement established pursuant to the bill’s provisions.
New Jersey sends more students to out-of-state colleges than any other state. Nearly four out of ten New Jersey-based freshmen attend college out-of-State. Many of these students have successfully completed academic coursework prior to their enrollment in an out-of-state college, or during summer semesters, that are not accepted for transfer. This results in students duplicating their effort, and spending more money on tuition, than is fair or necessary.