ASSEMBLY HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 3634

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 18, 2018

     The Assembly Higher Education Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 3634 with committee amendments.

     As amended, this bill provides that the standard number of credits required for the award of a baccalaureate degree by a public institution of higher education, beginning with students who initially enter the institution in the fall semester of 2019, will be 120 credit hours, and in the case of the award of an associate degree by a county college, 60 credit hours.

     The bill stipulates that the standard number of credit hours will not apply if the degree program is defined as a five-year degree program in the case of a four-year institution or more than a two-year degree program in the case of a county college.  The standard number of credit hours also will not apply if professional accreditation requires a greater number of credit hours or requires course work that cannot be completed within those credit hours, or if certification requirements result in a need for additional credit hours. 

     The bill requires the Secretary of Higher Education to establish standards for the purposes of complying with the credit hour limits established by the bill for institutions of higher education that use nontraditional course credit systems.  Within 180 days of the bill’s effective date, a four-year public institution or a county college that uses a nontraditional course credit system is required to submit a written request to the secretary for permission to comply with the credit hour limit in accordance with the standards established by the secretary.  Within 60 days of the written request, the secretary will advise the institution on whether the institution may meet the credit hour limit in accordance with those standards.

     The bill authorizes the governing board of a public institution, in consultation with the secretary, to approve additional exceptions to the bill’s standard credit hour requirements.

     As amended and reported by the committee, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No. 1265, which also was reported by the committee on this same date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

     The committee amended the bill to:

· Direct the Secretary of Higher Education to establish standards for complying with the credit hour limits for institutions of higher education that use nontraditional course credit systems;

· Provide that institutions using nontraditional course credit systems will submit a written request to the secretary for permission to comply with the credit hour limit within 180 days of the bill’s effective date; and

· Require the secretary to submit an annual report to the Governor and Legislature on the number institutions that are in compliance with the bill’s provisions.