NJSPL Report Release: The Current Landscape of Higher Education in New Jersey
Higher education in the United States is at a critical juncture. While Americans’ confidence in higher education has recently increased after a decade of declines (Jones, 2025), institutions continue to face heightened scrutiny and a shifting governance landscape shaped by politicization, expanding state and federal action, and evolving expectations for institutional accountability. These pressures have contributed to more contested campus climates and have increased the burden on colleges and universities as they respond to new oversight requirements, legal action, and shifting policy environments affecting institutional autonomy (EAB, 2026).
Recent national events have underscored how quickly campus issues can become governance, reputational, and financial risks (Moody, 2024). These pressures exist alongside unprecedented federal policy shifts affecting research funding, which in the immediate term has impacted the volume of research conducted, reduced graduate program admissions, and increased reliance on philanthropic sources (Faiman, 2025; Clark, Cluver, Fishman, and Glatter, 2026). The sector is also facing demographic market changes. Uncertainty surrounding immigration and international education policy has emerged as a significant financial risk for many institutions, particularly those that rely on declining international enrollment for tuition revenue and graduate program stability (NAFSA, 2026). The Institute of International Education reported year-to-year declines of 17 percent among new international graduate student enrollments in Fall 2025 (Baer & Ekin, 2025). Concurrently, Asian and European universities adopted recruitment strategies, increasing competition for and enrollment of international students (Clark, Cluver, Fishman, and Glatter, 2026).
Institutional leaders are under increasing pressure to articulate higher education’s return on investment (ROI) and workforce relevance without narrowing the mission solely to job preparation. One prominent manifestation of the ROI conversation is the growth of microcredentials. With increased competition from major online platforms (e.g., Coursera) and industry leaders (e.g., Google), many institutions are exploring how to integrate credit-bearing microcredentials into degree programs to improve labor market signaling and student outcomes. These pressures also contribute to broader financial and operational sustainability challenges for institutions, particularly public-mission, independent colleges and universities. Across the sector, analysts anticipate continued financial strain as institutions confront difficult decisions about cutting programs, downsizing, or complete shutdown (Nietzel, 2026). In New Jersey, mergers of two- and four-year institutions have permitted these institutions to continue to serve students amid enrollment declines and financial hardship.
Although some Americans question the merit of higher education, there is abundant evidence of many positive outcomes associated with it, including median earnings that are nearly twice those of high school graduates, increased civic engagement, and better mental health (American Council on Higher Education, 2026).
In light of these challenges and opportunities, New Jersey ranks tenth among the top-performing states in higher education attainment, with more than half of adults aged 25 to 64 (58.8 percent) holding a postsecondary credential (Lumina Foundation, 2026). Still, there is room for improvement, as only 5 out of 21 counties in the state have achieved a 60 percent postsecondary degree attainment rate (Lumina Foundation, 2026). As New Jersey considers the future direction of higher education in the state, it would be beneficial for policymakers to examine the practices of peer states and New Jersey’s current data trends to facilitate the continued development of a higher education landscape that best serves all New Jersey residents.
This report begins by highlighting recent practices in postsecondary education among the seven states with the highest educational attainment rates. The 2026 Lumina Foundation report, “A Stronger Nation,” measured post-high school educational attainment, excluding short-term credentials, among adults aged 25 to 64 between 2009 and 2024. This report was used to identify states with the highest percentages of the working-age population holding a post-high school credential. These states serve as the peer states for the thematic review that follows; New Jersey is examined separately in the quantitative analysis in the second half of this report, building on the New Jersey State Policy Lab’s prior report in 2025, “Higher Education in New Jersey: A Policy Review.”
Sections of this report focus on practices identified through the review of recent announcements in the selected high-attainment peer states. They are not intended to imply that comparable strategies are absent in New Jersey. New Jersey has implemented related initiatives across several of the areas discussed.
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