By Tara Nurin
Assembly committee crafts package of bills to freeze tuition, boost graduation rates at state’s public colleges and universities
These are difficult times for students at New Jersey’s public college and universities — and for their families. Tuition has climbed steadily, forcing lower- and middle-class kids to borrow more and more money.
At the same time, fewer and fewer students are graduating in four years; many take six to finish their studies, which often means they’re on the hook for more loans. And some students don’t graduate at all. They’re left with a mountain of debt and no realistic way to pay it off.
Characterizing the situation as “staggering” and “out of control,” the Assembly Higher Education Committee began work yesterday on a package of 20 reform bills intended to lower education costs and increase the graduation rate. Thus far, they have passed the first four bills to come before them. Two other committees passed legislation to incentivize internships and regulate university police departments.
The most significant and controversial bill passed by the higher education committee would freeze in-state undergraduate tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for the first four and a half years of a student’s enrollment. Committee members released three bills. One would establish a longitudinal collection and retention system to stockpile academic data about all New Jersey students from pre-school until they enter workforce. Another would require colleges and universities to allow high-school students to earn credits at a lower cost than traditional students. A third bill would let students transfer credits from four-year to two-year colleges.
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