A2182

An Act concerning information provided by 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. [An] A public 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. 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 of its students, and the composition of the teaching faculty that a student will encounter in [his] the student’s coursework. The institution shall post, and annually update, a student consumer information report on its website that includes, if applicable:

(1) overall three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates, as applicable;

(2) three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates by demographic group, as applicable;

(3) [three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates by major, as applicable;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(4) [three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates for student-athletes, as applicable;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(5) [the student transfer rate;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(6) [an overview of the institutions to which former students of that college or university have transferred prior to the completion of a degree;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(7) [the cost for the current academic year of attending the institution including tuition, student fees, room and board, and books and materials;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(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;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(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;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(10) [for four-year institutions of higher education, 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;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(11) [for four-year institutions of higher education, 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;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(12) [average student loan indebtedness of two-year and four-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute, as applicable. The institution shall disaggregate the data by: race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(13) [average student loan indebtedness of three-year and six-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute, as applicable. The institution shall disaggregate the data by: race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(14) [average student loan indebtedness of a student who transfers or withdraws from the institution prior to the completion of a degree program for both students who live on campus and who commute. The institution shall disaggregate the data by: race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(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 Secretary of Higher Education; and] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(18) the number and percentage of borrowers for whom the institution has certified a [supplemental] student loan and the total amount in loans accepted by a student while enrolled in the institution, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status.

[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. [An] A public institution of higher education shall conform to the guidelines, criteria, and format prescribed by the Secretary of Higher Education in reporting the information required pursuant to this section.

c. [An] A public institution of higher education shall submit its student consumer information report to the Secretary of Higher Education for inclusion in a comparative profile of the student consumer information reports of all public institutions of higher education.

In addition to the information contained in the institutional student consumer information reports pursuant to this section, the comparative profile shall identify the existence of any racial disparities in student loan indebtedness [and loan default rates].

d. [An] A public 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 Secretary of Higher Education's Internet site that includes the comparative profile required pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of [this act] P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-45).

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

(cf: P.L.2021, c.349, s.2)

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

3. a. The Secretary of Higher Education shall issue guidelines [and] , criteria , and determine the method for collecting and calculating the information required pursuant to section 2 of [this act] P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-44) and shall prescribe a uniform reporting method and timeframe for posting the information.

b. The Secretary of Higher Education shall annually compile the student consumer information reports submitted pursuant to subsection c. of section 2 of [this act] P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-44) into a comparative profile of all [four-year] public institutions of higher education. The 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 institutions.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.349, s.3)

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill revises the reporting requirements of the “New Jersey Student and Parent Consumer Information Act.”

The “New Jersey Student and Parent Consumer Information Act” requires institutions of higher education to provide for public inspection on their websites information on: the cost of attendance, graduation rates of admitted students, racial disparities, student loan indebtedness, and the faculty of the institution.

This bill amends current law to remove the following reporting requirements of the student consumer information report: graduation rates by major; graduation rates for student-athletes; the student transfer rate; an overview of the institutions to which former students have transferred; the total cost of attendance for the current academic year; a description of the types of financial assistance offered directly by the institution; the percent of students who receive financial assistance directly from the institution; the total projected cost of attendance for four years and for six years; the average student loan indebtedness of all students; and an indicator of each academic department’s capacity to serve the students majoring within that department’s programs. The bill also revises current law to require public institutions of higher education to report the number and percentage of borrowers for whom the institution has certified any type of student loan, disaggregated by certain characteristics.

Additionally, this bill provides that all reporting requirements under the act will only apply to public institutions of higher education.