New Jersey's Higher Education Institutions: Excellence Amidst Challenges

New Jersey Business, Mar 01, 2007 by Saliba, George N

Across much of the United States, state funding for higher education has been encouraging, with, for example, the State of Alabama increasing appropriations by 18.7 percent between fiscal years 2006 and 2007. New Jersey, on the other hand, was ranked dead last among all 50 states, with an appropriations decrease of 2.7 percent for that period, according to the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. Many people simply blame New Jersey's infamous budget situation for the funding woes, while others claim, among various assertions, that New Jersey places a low priority on higher education. Whatever one's view, in the face of quantifiable challenges, colleges and universities throughout the state are striving to provide excellent educational experiences.

Specific Challenges

In addition to other educational institutions (such as special purpose religious institutions or proprietary institutions), New Jersey has: three public research universities; nine state colleges and universities; 14 independent colleges and universities; and 19 county colleges. Unlike many states, New Jersey financially assists its independents, albeit not at the level of public colleges and universities. Total state higher education funding for fiscal year 2005/2006 was $2.03 billion; for fiscal year 2006/2007, it decreased to $1.97 billion.

Compounding fiscal problems is the fact that New Jersey's higher education institutions are stretched thin to handle growing numbers of students. While the state's 228,416 2005 full-timestudent total may sound impressive, Dr. Susan A. Cole, president of the 13,500-student Montclair State University, says her institution annually turns away "thousands and thousands" of students who are qualified to apply.

The Website for the Trenton-based New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities provides reasons why demand might increase at public state colleges and universities for fulltime, residential undergraduate education. It notes, as per its Director of Communications Paul R. Shelly, that: high school graduation rates are increasing; more vocational-education students are attending college; there have been educational improvements in the Abbott school districts; New Jersey has experienced an inmigration of families with high school-aged children; state colleges and universities have emerged as a first choice for many students; and there have been new programs to encourage county college graduates to continue their education.

Meanwhile, Montclair's Cole says that between fiscal years 2000 and 2007, enrollment at her institution has increased by 19 percent and the numbers of degrees granted has increased by 41 percent (Montclair State now grants 1,000 degrees more per year than it did in 2000). In addition: full-time faculty positions increased by 27 percent; the number of students housed by 69 percent; and classroom/laboratory space by nearly 56 percent.

"In the face of that, our general state appropriation during that same period, from 2000 to 2007, has increased only 3.1 percent," Cole explains. "That doesn't even begin to cover simple inflation, let alone all of the extraordinary new programs, buildings, laboratories and students on campus."

Higher Education's Response

How is higher education coping? According to the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, tuition alone (not counting room and board), increased by nearly 9 percent between academic years 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, at senior public colleges and universities (i.e., non-county colleges and nonindependents). The rise is the result not only of declining state aid, but multiple factors including skyrocketing health insurance costs and high energy prices.

Besides raising tuition, Montclair State University and other institutions are also borrowing money (something Cole describes as "a rare thing in public higher education") to construct buildings, for instance. Thirdly, the institutions have been efficient, notwithstanding the well-publicized scandals at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).

Cole stresses, "We have worked very hard at that and I think all the general indicators would suggest that New Jersey institutions, with the exception of one (UMDNJ) function very efficiently."

Dr. Richard L. McCormick, the president of a different school Rutgers University - even called UMDNJ's problems "the UMDNJ factor" during his Annual Address to the University Community last September. At that time, he said UMDNJ's problems hurt all of higher education in the state, essentially because of the false perception that other schools might behave similarly.

Meanwhile, McCormick told New Jersey Business that Rutgers is examining two questions: how it can become an even more effective and efficient organization; and how it can bring in more dollars not just from the State of New Jersey, but from all of the multiple sources upon which a public university depends. The fiscal year 2006 -'07 New Jersey budget left the 52,000-student university with $66.1 million less in state funding. Philanthropy is one area Rutgers will target heavily, while others include pursuing: federal research support; self-supporting and executive education programs; and technology transfer (moving research from the scientific laboratory to the world of commerce and business, where that research may become the basis for new companies, jobs and profits).