By Angie Nga Le, Stuart Shapiro, and Elizabeth Cooner
New Jersey’s state higher education plan, “Where Opportunity Meets Innovation – A Student-Centered Vision for New Jersey Higher Education” (the Plan), was introduced in 2019. It envisions an ecosystem where every resident can attain high-quality credentials regardless of their circumstances.
This report aims to assess how New Jersey has progressed toward the goals of this plan, considering societal factors and progress toward improved equity. The report provides insights into policy effectiveness to aid in the strategic development of the State’s higher education ecosystem. The assessment utilizes archival analysis and some interviews with higher education leaders. The research methods involve examining administrative and research reports, conducting a longitudinal study of educational metrics, and performing a comparative analysis of postsecondary attainment in New Jersey and other states.
New Jersey appears to have made some progress in improving the affordability and accessibility of higher education between FY 2019 and FY 2023. The inflation-adjusted tuition and fees decreased across all categories of institutions over the period, with declines ranging from 9.6% at community colleges to 31.6% at independent proprietary institutions. Likewise, between FY 2019 and FY 2023, the inflation-adjusted net price of public higher education for low-income students experienced significant declines of 29% for four-year, and 14% for two-year public institutions. Additionally, the proportion of net tuition and fee revenue (student share) within the total revenue of New Jersey public institutions dropped from 57.6% in FY 2017 to 47.1% in FY 2022. However, enrollment in higher education has decreased in the past decade, with a pronounced acceleration since FY 2020. Full-time equivalent enrollment fell by 2.3% between FY 2014 and FY 2019 and by 6.6% between FY 2019 and FY 2023.
Graduation rates and completions have shown positive improvements since 2019, including for historically marginalized populations. Graduation rates rose nearly four percentage points at two-year institutions and about one percentage point at four-year institutions between 2019 and 2023. At the same time, New Jersey’s educational attainment rate has increased steadily since 2019, reaching 58.9% and ranking 8th nationally in 2022.* The State also ranked high nationally in degree attainment rates among American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN), Asian or Pacific Islander (API), and White individuals (rankings of 5th, 2nd and 5th, respectively), but performed less favorably among Black and Hispanic students (rankings of 18th and 14th, respectively).
The State witnessed significant progress in boosting attainment rates for AIAN, Black, Hispanic and White students (over ten percentage point increases between 2009 and 2022), though progress for API students was comparatively lower (a 5.7 percentage point increase between 2009 and 2022). Furthermore, research shows that pursuing higher education tends to lead to higher incomes for New Jersey graduates, with median earnings increasing alongside educational attainment.
The report also provides an initial overview of the Plan’s implementation, facilitating an understanding of factors that affect policy effectiveness. According to data from the Governor’s Performance Center, the State has shown positive results in realizing the “Visions in Practice.” Initial analyses and interviews suggest active engagement from both four-year colleges and universities and community colleges in implementing the Plan, alongside significant efforts by the state agencies to improve affordability and accessibility. However, the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak hampered the efforts of the State and institutions to advance the Plan.
In terms of the Plan’s design, the ten objectives outlined in the Plan closely align with its vision and goals. The implementation steps involve diverse stakeholders and are consistent with the objectives. The report concludes with recommendations regarding policy design and implementation management. It also presents policy options to be considered for upcoming strategies in higher education.
*The Lumina Foundation has recently released updated educational attainment rates; New Jersey achieved 59.3% in 2023.
Dr. Angie Nga Le is a postdoctoral associate for the New Jersey State Policy Lab, Dr. Elizabeth Cooner is the Executive Director for the New Jersey State Policy Lab, and Dr. Stuart Shapiro is the Principal Investigator for the New Jersey State Policy Lab and Dean of the Bloustein School for Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.