Requires institutions of higher education to collect and report employment data for certain graduates.

S229 TR

SENATE, No. 229

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblywoman� LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblywoman� VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator McKnight, Assemblywomen Speight, Morales and
Brennan

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires institutions of higher education to collect
and report employment data for certain graduates.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Senate Higher Education Committee
with technical review.

��

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) the employment
outcomes and earnings data available through the New Jersey Statewide Data
System for the graduates of the three most recent academic years for which data
is available
.
�

���� 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.

���� 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 has
reviewed
]

the student�s review of
the institution's student consumer information
report.

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

�����
2.� Section 3 of
P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-45) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3. a. The Secretary of Higher
Education shall issue guidelines and criteria for collecting and calculating
the information required pursuant to section 2 of this act and shall prescribe
a uniform reporting method for posting the information.�

���� b.��� The Secretary of Higher
Education shall annually compile the student consumer information reports
submitted pursuant to subsection c. of section 2 of this act into a comparative
profile of all four-year
[
public
]
institutions
of higher education.� The secretary shall present the information on its
website in a manner that allows college students and their families to easily
compare student consumer information across institutions.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.349, s.3)

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year
following the date of enactment.