The plan to restructure higher education in the state is another issue which led to a political firestorm. The proposed merger of Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the UMDNJ medical school gets a thumbs up from 36% of state residents and a thumbs down from 20%. Another 43% have no opinion. In a February poll, shortly after the plan was introduced, 31% said it was a good idea to 13% who said it was not. Opinion in the most affected Route 1 Corridor counties of Mercer, Middlesex, and Union is more positive – 48% say it is a good idea to just 14% who say it is a bad idea. This is up from 35% good to 16% bad just two months ago.
The idea to fold the Rutgers-Camden campus into Rowan University, on the other hand, has generated greater opposition as residents hear more about it. Currently, 23% of New Jerseyans say it is a good idea while 33% say it is a bad idea, and another 44% have no opinion. In February, statewide opinion was split at 20% good idea to 22% bad idea. Among those in the most affected Delaware Valley counties of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester, opposition to the merger is higher – 25% call it a good idea, while nearly half – 47% – see it as a bad idea. Two months ago, Delaware Valley opinion stood at 25% good idea to 36% bad idea.
Only 1-in-4 (26%) New Jerseyans say the merger of Rutgers-Camden and Rowan was proposed mainly to improve higher education in the Garden State. More (45%) say that it was done mainly to benefit powerful political interests. Another 3% say both considerations figured equally into the plan and another 26% offer no opinion.
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