New Jersey-2016-A2759-Introduced

An Act concerning student fees at public institutions of higher education, supplementing chapter 3B and chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and amending P.L.2009, c.197.

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

1. (New section) The Secretary of Higher Education shall issue guidelines and criteria on the specific categories for use in the breakdown of total student fees which is required to be included in the student consumer information report pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-44) and on student tuition bills pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The categories shall include, but need not be limited to, student-managed entertainment and capital improvements.

2. (New section) a. The governing body of a county college and of a four-year public institution of higher education shall include on student tuition bills a breakdown of the total student fees by specific category in accordance with the guidelines and criteria issued by the Secretary of Higher Education pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. Any amount payable on a student tuition bill as a student fee for the category of student-managed entertainment shall be an "optional fee." For the purposes of this section, the "optional fee" shall appear as a separately assessed item. The "optional fee" shall be accompanied by a statement as to the nature of the item, and that the item is a charge required to be paid by the student unless the student affirmatively opts out of paying the fee.

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

2. a. A four-year public 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. 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 of its students, and the composition of the teaching faculty that a student will encounter in his coursework. The institution shall post, and annually update, a student consumer information report on its website that includes:

(1) overall four-year and six-year graduation rates;

(2) four-year and six-year graduation rates by demographic group;

(3) four-year and six-year graduation rates by major;

(4) four-year and six-year graduation rates for student-athletes;

(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, including a breakdown of total student fees by specific category in accordance with the guidelines and criteria issued by the Secretary of Higher Education pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), 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) 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) 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 four-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute;

(13) average student loan indebtedness of six-year graduates for both students who live on campus and students who commute;

(14) average student loan indebtedness of a student who withdraws from the institution prior to the completion of a degree program for both students who live on campus and students who commute;

(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; and

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

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. A four-year public institution of higher education shall conform to the guidelines, criteria, and format prescribed by the [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education in reporting the information required pursuant to this section.

c. A four-year public institution of higher education shall submit its student consumer information report to the [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education for inclusion in a comparative profile of the student consumer information reports of all four-year public institutions of higher education.

d. A four-year public 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 [Commission on] Secretary of Higher Education's Internet site that includes the comparative profile required pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this act.

e. A four-year public 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. A four-year public institution of higher education shall require the parent or guardian of a student applying for admission into the institution, or the student if he is an independent adult, to sign and submit a statement acknowledging that he has reviewed the institution's student consumer information report.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.197, s.2)

4. This act shall take effect for the 2016-2017 academic year.

STATEMENT

This bill requires that student tuition bills for county colleges and four-year public institutions of higher education include a breakdown of the general item of "student fees" into specific categories of fees. The categories used on the tuition bill will be determined through guidelines and criteria issued by the Secretary of Higher Education, but at a minimum will include "student-managed entertainment" and "capital improvements." The bill provides further that any amount payable on a student tuition bill as a student fee for the category of "student-managed entertainment" must be an "optional fee." The "optional fee" must be accompanied by a statement as to the nature of the item, and that the item is a charge required to be paid by the student unless the student affirmatively opts out of paying the fee.

Pursuant to the "New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act," P.L.2009, c.197 (C.18A:3B-43 et seq.), four-year public institutions of higher education are required to post on their websites, and annually update, a student consumer information report which provides various types of information, including the amount payable in the current academic year for student fees. This bill requires that the information on the total amount of student fees must also include a breakdown by specific category of all the fees comprising the total. The categories used in the student consumer information report will be the same as those used on the student tuition bills.