Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MARLENE CARIDE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblyman THOMAS P. GIBLIN
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires institutions of higher education to enter into collective Statewide reverse transfer agreement.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning a Statewide reverse transfer agreement 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. Each institution of higher education, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education and the New Jersey Presidents’ Council, shall establish and enter into a collective Statewide reverse transfer agreement. Under the agreement, a student enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education who has a cumulative total of 66 credits earned between a county college and the four-year institution may be awarded an associate degree by the county college. The reverse transfer agreement shall address the following:
(1) the effective communication between the county college and the four-year institution on student transcripts and course equivalencies;
(2) the process by which a student is notified of potential eligibility, and by which the four-year institution obtains the consent of the student for release of his transcript to the county college;
(3) procedures for advising students on the courses that a student needs to complete to attain an associate degree;
(4) policies and procedures for the annual review and update of the agreement; and
(5) policies and procedures for the collection of data by the secretary to ensure that all institutions are in compliance with this section. The secretary shall annually determine the data to be collected and shall notify each institution in a timely manner.
b. The policies and procedures set forth in the collective Statewide reverse transfer agreement shall be fully operational by September 1, 2018.
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. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each institution of higher education to enter into a collective Statewide reverse transfer agreement. Under the agreement, a student enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education who has a cumulative total of 66 credits earned between a county college and the four-year institution may be awarded an associate degree by the county college. The reverse transfer agreement will address the following issues:
(1) the effective communication between the county college and the four-year institution on student transcripts and course equivalencies;
(2) the process by which a student is notified of potential eligibility, and by which the four-year institution obtains the consent of the student for release of his transcript to the county college;
(3) procedures for advising students on the courses that a student needs to complete to attain an associate degree;
(4) policies and procedures for the annual review and update of the agreement; and
(5) policies and procedures for the collection of data by the secretary to ensure that all institutions are in compliance with the bill’s provisions.
The policies and procedures established in the collective Statewide reverse transfer agreement will be fully operational by September 1, 2018.
This bill implements a recommendation of the College Affordability Study Commission included in its September 2016 final report.