newjerseynewsroom.com

BY DARRYL G. GREER

COMMENTARY

Expanding the state's competitiveness by providing more college opportunity in the Garden State has not been a high priority for New Jersey. This has been the case for many years, for many reasons, not just because of the economic recession, as some have maintained.

Those opinion leaders willing to accept the low priority given to higher education have tend to minimize the effect of an the exodus of 36,000 New Jersey high school graduates each year to attend college in other states — the nation's highest number. This loss reflects not just students choosing to leave the state, but also an appalling lack of adequate in-state capacity at four year public colleges for students who want to study here. The Garden State ranks 47th in the nation in four-year, public college seats per capita. The cost of the student exodus can be counted in billions of dollars lost to our economy; it includes a brain drain making it harder for businesses and families to prosper here.

Meanwhile, higher education cuts have been used — for much of the past decade — as a partial fix to state budget challenges. With such persistent disinvestment, and no recent support for facilities funding for 20 years, it is no surprise that New Jersey public college tuition is among the nation's highest. Today, tuition and fees for housing and other services compose at least two-thirds of colleges' total revenue, with the state's share trailing, by far. Since 1991, New Jersey has so routinely under-funded its public colleges to make up for shortfalls in state revenue, that I find laughable recent suggestions that either the current Great Recession, or the absence of a cabinet-level agency, are to blame.

Yet, following decades of state-level policy myopia, there are reasons for cautious optimism that higher education is moving to a more prominent place among the state's competing priorities. That could be good news for parents and students now preparing for college. Here are five signs of hope.

• Governor Christie has created a task force headed by former Governor Tom Kean, a long-time backer and architect of higher education improvement in New Jersey, to evaluate the state's higher education assets, needs and policies. The task force will present its recommendations by December, which gives the governor enough time to put them in motion early next year.
• The governor, upon signing the budget, stated publicly that he will look to higher education as the first place to invest more state funds once the economy improves. This governor, as with governors in many other states, is connecting the dots between higher education improvement, innovation, jobs, business and industry vitality, and economic recovery. In July, state officials and other leaders lauded the recommendations of a report from New Jersey Policy Research Organization which include: strategic information sharing between academic institutions and business, and emphasizing existing business-academic partnerships to draw new businesses to the state.
• The legislature is studying bills to reduce bureaucratic red tape holding the colleges back and driving up their operating costs. One example is a recently enacted bill extending the window of opportunity for colleges to partner with the private sector for construction of needed buildings. Proposed changes in administration of personnel and workers compensation, steps that will help colleges be more productive and directly accountable, are being considered by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
• State colleges and universities have proven their worth and their resilience. They persevered though tough economic times and years of budget cuts --- emerging more widely recognized, more in-demand, more efficient, and more entrepreneurial than ever. A national study finds the nine New Jersey state colleges and universities to be among the most productive of their type in the nation. They have grown enrollment 40% over the past ten years with virtually no state financial help to do so. They have employed new technology; for example several campuses now use solar panels to produce a sizable share of their power. They have worked with the private sector on partnerships that are helping New Jersey lead in innovation. They have attracted large philanthropic donations supporting state-of-the-art programs and facilities.
• Citizens are beginning to speak up about the need for investment in higher education to protect access and affordability. Through a decade of scientific polling, our Association knows that residents of this state support increasing college opportunity. Now many are making their voices heard in Trenton through our relatively new public policy information and advocacy program, New Jersey College Promise Action Network. Registration with the Network is now approaching 9,000.

These are reasons for hope, but lingering storm clouds as well. These include a continuing absence of state support for facilities, unwarranted regulatory and mandatory costs created by the state, and the likelihood that student demand will continue to far outstrip current capacity at the state colleges, at least for another decade.

New Jersey has long put off making bold decisions supporting higher education's role in the future prosperity of the state. Now, there is a potential convergence of entities and interests that could change all that, offering some hope for the future for our citizens.

Darryl G. Greer is CEO of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities whose member institutions are The College of New Jersey, Kean University, Montclair State University, New Jersey City University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Rowan University, Thomas Edison State College, and William Paterson University.