S1290

An Act concerning information provided by public and independent institutions of higher education and amending P.L.2009, c.197.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 2 of P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-44) is amended to read as follows:

2. a. A four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall provide for public inspection on its website comprehensive information on the cost of attendance, the graduation rates of admitted students, and the faculty of the institution, and shall also provide for public inspection on its website employment data for recent graduates of the institution. The purpose of the information shall be to maximize the awareness of students and their families of the costs associated with enrollment in the institution, the institution's success in ensuring the graduation and employment of its students, and the composition of the teaching faculty that a student will encounter in his coursework. The institution shall post, and annually update, a student consumer information report on its website that includes:

(1) overall four-year and six-year graduation rates;

(2) four-year and six-year graduation rates by demographic group;

(3) four-year and six-year graduation rates by major;

(4) four-year and six-year graduation rates for student-athletes;

(5) the student transfer rate;

(6) an overview of the institutions to which former students of that college or university have transferred prior to the completion of a degree;

(7) the cost for the current academic year of attending the institution including tuition, student fees, room and board, and books and materials;

(8) a description of the types of financial assistance offered directly by the institution to both student-athletes and to students who do not participate in athletic programs at the institution;

(9) the percent of student-athletes who receive financial assistance directly from the institution and the average value of the assistance and the percent of students who do not participate in athletic programs at the institution who receive financial assistance directly from the institution and the average value of the assistance;

(10) the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to live on campus and complete a degree in four years and the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to commute to school and complete a degree in four years;

(11) the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to live on campus and complete a degree in six years and the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to commute to school and complete a degree in six years;

(12) average student loan indebtedness of four-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute;

(13) average student loan indebtedness of six-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute;

(14) average student loan indebtedness of a student who withdraws from the institution prior to the completion of a degree program for both students who live on campus and students who commute;

(15) an overview of the institution's faculty, including the percentage of faculty employed as a tenured professor, the percentage of faculty employed as a full-time non-tenured professor, and the percentage of faculty employed as an adjunct or visiting professor;

(16) the percentage of courses taught by each of the different categories of faculty; [and]

(17) an indicator of each academic department's capacity to serve the students majoring within that department's programs, as determined by the [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education; and

(18) employment data beginning with data compiled for students who graduated from the institution during the 2018-2019 academic year. The employment data may include, but need not be limited to: majors which resulted in the highest full-time employment and highest annual salary; majors which resulted in the lowest full-time employment and lowest annual salary; the overall number and percentage of students who are employed one year following graduation from the institution; and the annual average salary earned by students one year following graduation from the institution. In addition to being displayed on the institution’s website, the employment data shall be provided to each incoming freshman prior to initial course registration.

The institution shall provide with all paper applications for admission to the institution a hard copy of the information prepared pursuant to this section.

b. A four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall conform to the guidelines, criteria, and format prescribed by the [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education in reporting the information required pursuant to this section.

c. A four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall submit its student consumer information report to the [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education for inclusion in a comparative profile of the student consumer information reports of all four-year public and independent institutions of higher education.

d. A four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall ensure that the page of its Internet site which includes its student consumer information report contains a link to the page of the [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education's Internet site that includes the comparative profile required pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this act.

e. A four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall ensure that the Internet site for submitting an online application to the institution contains a link to the institution's student consumer information report.

f. A four-year public or independent institution of higher education shall require the parent or guardian of a student applying for admission into the institution, or the student if he is an independent adult, to sign and submit a statement acknowledging that he has reviewed the institution's student consumer information report.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.197, s.2)

2. Section 3 of P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-45) is amended to read as follows:

3. a. The [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education shall issue guidelines and criteria for collecting and calculating the information required pursuant to section 2 of this act and shall prescribe a uniform reporting method for posting the information.

b. The [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education shall annually compile the student consumer information reports submitted pursuant to subsection c. of section 2 of this act into a comparative profile of all four-year public and independent institutions of higher education. The [commission] secretary shall present the information on its website in a manner that allows college students and their families to easily compare student consumer information across public institutions and across independent institutions.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.197, s.3)

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires public and independent institutions of higher education to collect and report employment data for recent graduates and to post the information on their websites. The bill also provides that independent institutions of higher education will be subject to the provisions of the “New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act,” P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-43 et seq.). Under that act, public institutions of higher education are currently required to provide for public inspection on their websites information on the cost of attendance, the graduation rates of admitted students, and the faculty of the institution. This bill amends that law to require the independent institutions to provide the same information on their websites, and to include employment data for recent graduates.

The bill revises the nature of the employment data collected and provides that independent institutions of higher education will also be subject to the provisions of the “New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act” and the requirement to provide employment data for recent graduates.