Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Johnson
SYNOPSIS
Creates Task Force on Higher Education Governance and Funding; appropriates $200,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Higher Education Committee on February 10, 2025, with amendments.
An Act establishing the Task Force on Higher Education Governance and Funding1, and making an appropriation1.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established the Task Force on Higher Education Governance and Funding. The purpose of the task force is to examine the State’s system of higher education, including its organization, governance, and funding mechanisms. The task force shall develop recommendations that align with the State’s higher education priorities.
b. The task force shall consist of 1[14] 131 members as follows:
(1) the Secretary of Higher Education, ex officio, or a designee;
(2) 1the Executive Director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, ex officio, or a designee;
(3)1 two public members appointed by the President of the Senate, both of whom shall have 1[demonstrated expertise in issues related to the work of the task force] substantive experience in higher education administration, public policy, or educational research relating to higher education governance and funding1;
1[(3)] (4)1 two public members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, both of whom shall have demonstrated expertise in 1[issues relating to the work of the task force] institutional accountability, fiscal management of institutions of higher education, student access and equity in higher education, or industry and workforce development in higher education1; and
1[(4) 9] (5) seven1 members appointed by the Governor, including: the president of a public research university, or a designee; the president of a State college or university 1[established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes] that is a member of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities1, or a designee; the president of a county college, or a designee; the president of an independent 1[college] institution of higher education1 1[;] ,1 or a designee; 1[a representative of the American Association of University Professors] the president of the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, or a designee1; 1[a representative of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals AFT/AFL-CIO; a representative of an alumni association of a four-year public institution of higher education; a student currently enrolled in an institution of higher education; and a student currently enrolled in a proprietary institution licensed to offer academic degrees] and the president of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals, or a designee1.
2. Appointments to the task force shall be made within 1[30] 601 days of the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. Members of the task force shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the task force within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force for its purposes.
3. 1a.1 The task force shall organize no later than 1[30] 601 days following the 1[appointment of its members] effective date of this act and shall be required to meet regardless of whether all members have been appointed as of that date1.
1b.1 The 1Secretary of Higher Education shall serve as interim chairperson of the1 task force 1until all members have been appointed, at which time the task force1 shall choose a chairperson from among its members and shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force.
1c. The task force shall hold at least one public hearing no later than six months after the organization of the task force.1
4. The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education shall 2 provide such stenographic, clerical, and other administrative 3 assistants, and such professional staff as the task force requires to 4 carry out its work. The task force also shall be entitled to call to its 5 assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any 6 State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, 7 or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes.
5. It shall be the duty of the task force to examine the governance and funding of the State’s system of higher education. 1The task force may utilize the assistance of an external consultant to meet its research needs.1 In conducting its work, the task force shall assess the system’s ability to meet the current challenges facing institutions of higher education 1, and to recommend to the Legislature specific data-driven criteria and approaches to adequately, equitably, and stably fund public institutions of higher education,1 through:
a. an in-depth examination of the organizational structure of each institution of higher education in the State1, including an analysis of the role and impact of their governing boards1;
b. an analysis of the role and impact of State 1entities that provide1 oversight 1[and governing board oversight] , guidance, and support to the State’s institutions of higher education1;
c. 1[a review of the federal and State laws and regulations impacting the governance and funding of the State’s institutions of higher education;
d.] the identification and evaluation of State statutory and regulatory requirements, including any required submissions of data and reports, imposed upon institutions of higher education, degree-granting proprietary institutions, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority;
d. an analysis of the funding made available by the State to fulfill State statutory and regulatory requirements and the amount of funding which institutions of higher education and degree-granting proprietary institutions expend to fulfill those requirements;
e.1 an analysis of the institutions’ funding mechanisms and the impact of funding mechanisms on 1tuition and1 student and institution outcomes 1including, but not limited to, a review of State operating aid as a percentage of the operating budget of each public institution of higher education beginning in fiscal year 2000 and in each fiscal year thereafter1; 1[and
e.] f. the development of a master calendar that identifies the dates or timelines of all major reporting requirements for institutions of higher education within State and federal regulations;
g. an analysis of the mission statements of the State’s institutions of higher education, and whether resources at these institutions are effectively utilized and promoting these mission statements;
h. a review of the relationships between county colleges and other institutions of higher education;
i. an assessment of the extent to which institutions of higher education are meeting the State’s workforce needs;
j. an analysis of the effects of the change in higher education governance structure in the State since the abolishment of the Department of Higher Education in 1994;
k.1 the identification 1and recommendation1 of best practices 1utilized1 in 1New Jersey and1 other states in the areas of higher education governance and funding1, including, but not limited to best practices that may address:
(1) state funding options to annually support the operating and critical auxiliary needs of institutions of higher education, including capital construction and deferred maintenance, and the extent to which other states issue bonds or incur other forms of debt to support those needs;
(2) the use of annual capital budgeting;
(3) the percentage of State-funded employment positions at each public institution of higher education in the State relative to that institution’s total employment, and the extent to which other states support fringe benefits of employees of public institutions of higher education;
(4) the availability of supplemental State support through grant programs and other funding opportunities;
(5) the appropriate governance structure of the State’s higher education institutions; and
(6) the identification of any regulatory or other barriers that limit or prevent the realization of cost efficiencies through joint purchasing, shared services, and other cost-saving opportunities for collaboration among institutions of higher education1.
6. a. The task force shall issue a final report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than one year after the task force organizes.
b. The task force shall expire 30 days after the issuance of its final report.
17. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education the sum of $200,000 for the needs of the task force. The secretary may, upon the recommendation of the task force, use these funds to hire, contract, or partner with subject matter experts as may be necessary and appropriate.1
1[7.] 8.1 This act shall take effect immediately.