S5009

An Act concerning the collection and reporting of certain information by institutions of higher education and amending P.L.2009, c.197.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 2 of P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-44) is amended to read as follows:

2. a. An institution of higher education shall provide for public inspection on its website comprehensive information on the cost of attendance, the graduation rates of admitted students, [and] the faculty of the institution, and employment data for recent graduates of the institution. The purpose of the information shall be to maximize the awareness of students and their families of the costs associated with enrollment in the institution, the institution's success in ensuring the graduation and employment of its students, and the composition of the teaching faculty that a student will encounter [in his coursework] at the institution. The institution shall post, and annually update, a student consumer information report on its website that includes, if applicable:

(1) overall three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates, as applicable;

(2) three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates by demographic group, as applicable;

(3) three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates by major, as applicable;

(4) three-year, four-year, and six-year graduation rates for student-athletes, as applicable;

(5) the student transfer rate;

(6) an overview of the institutions to which former students of that college or university have transferred prior to the completion of a degree;

(7) the cost for the current academic year of attending the institution including tuition, student fees, room and board, and books and materials;

(8) a description of the types of financial assistance offered directly by the institution to both student-athletes and to students who do not participate in athletic programs at the institution;

(9) the percent of student-athletes who receive financial assistance directly from the institution and the average value of the assistance and the percent of students who do not participate in athletic programs at the institution who receive financial assistance directly from the institution and the average value of the assistance;

(10) for four-year institutions of higher education, the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to live on campus and complete a degree in four years and the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to commute to school and complete a degree in four years;

(11) for four-year institutions of higher education, the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to live on campus and complete a degree in six years and the total projected cost for an incoming freshman to commute to school and complete a degree in six years;

(12) average student loan indebtedness of two-year and four-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute, as applicable. The institution shall disaggregate the data by: race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status;

(13) average student loan indebtedness of three-year and six-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute, as applicable. The institution shall disaggregate the data by: race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status;

(14) average student loan indebtedness of a student who transfers or withdraws from the institution prior to the completion of a degree program for both students who live on campus and who commute. The institution shall disaggregate the data by: race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status;

(15) an overview of the institution's faculty, including the percentage of faculty employed as a tenured professor, the percentage of faculty employed as a full-time non-tenured professor, and the percentage of faculty employed as an adjunct or visiting professor;

(16) the percentage of courses taught by each of the different categories of faculty;

(17) an indicator of each academic department's capacity to serve the students majoring within that department's programs, as determined by the Secretary of Higher Education; [and]

(18) the number and percentage of borrowers for whom the institution has certified a supplemental student loan, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status; and

(19) employment outcomes and earnings data for the graduates of the three most recent academic years for which data is available. The employment data shall include, but not be limited to: the overall number and percentage of students who are employed full-time in a field related to their major one year following graduation from the institution; the overall number and percentage of students who are employed full-time in any field one year following graduation from the institution; the overall number and percentage of students who enroll in a graduate program within one year following graduation from the institution; and the salary earned by students one year following graduation from the institution. The institution shall disaggregate the data by: race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status. The institution shall maintain the employment data for each graduating class on its website for a period of four academic years following its compilation. Beginning in the first full academic year next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the institution shall annually conduct an employment survey of the students who graduated in the prior academic year, for the purpose of effectuating the provisions of this paragraph. In the first three academic years following the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the institution shall report any available employment outcomes and earnings data.

The institution shall provide with all paper applications for admission to the institution a hard copy of the information prepared pursuant to this section.

b. An institution of higher education shall conform to the guidelines, criteria, and format prescribed by the Secretary of Higher Education in reporting the information required pursuant to this section.

c. An institution of higher education shall submit its student consumer information report to the Secretary of Higher Education for inclusion in a comparative profile of the student consumer information reports of all institutions of higher education.

In addition to the information contained in the institutional student consumer information reports pursuant to this section, the comparative profile shall identify the existence of any racial disparities in student loan indebtedness and loan default rates.

d. An institution of higher education shall ensure that the page of its Internet site which includes its student consumer information report contains a link to the page of the Secretary of Higher Education's Internet site that includes the comparative profile required pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of [this act] P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-45).

e. An institution of higher education shall ensure that the Internet site for submitting an online application to the institution contains a link to the institution's student consumer information report.

f. An institution of higher education shall require the parent or guardian of a student applying for admission into the institution, or the student if [he] the student is an independent adult, to sign and submit a statement acknowledging that [he] the student has reviewed the institution's student consumer information report.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.349, s.2)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires institutions of higher education to collect and report employment outcomes and earnings data for recent graduates.

Pursuant to current State law known as the “New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act,” institutions of higher education are required to provide on their websites information on the cost of attendance, the graduation rates of admitted students, and the faculty of the institution.

Under this bill, institutions of higher education are required to include employment outcomes and earnings data for the graduates of the three most recent academic years for which data is available in the report on the institution’s website. The employment data is to include: the overall number and percentage of students who are employed full-time in a field related to their major one year following graduation from the institution; the overall number and percentage of students who are employed full-time in any field one year following graduation from the institution; the overall number and percentage of students who enroll in a graduate program within one year following graduation from the institution; and the salary earned by students one year following graduation from the institution. This data is to be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, family income at the time of admission, gender, and first-generation status.

The bill requires an institution to maintain the employment data for each graduating class on its website for a period of four academic years following its compilation. Beginning in the first full academic year next following the date of enactment of the bill, the institution is required to conduct an employment survey of the students who graduated in the prior academic year. For the first three academic years following the date of enactment of this bill, an institution is required to report any available employment outcomes and earnings data.