National Report on Higher Education Documents State's Shrinking Support for Public Colleges

New Jersey has cut funding for public colleges by more than a quarter since the start of the recession, resulting in higher tuition at the exact time layoffs and salary cuts were making it more difficult for many families to pay more, according to a new national report.

The study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that, nationally, states are spending an inflation-adjusted $2,353, or 28 percent, less per student this year than in 2008.

New Jersey’s reduction of $2,549 per student was the 20th largest in the nation. And it's taking a toll in a number of ways. Public colleges are raising tuition by more than 10 percent on average -- pushing up already-steep charges. The state of the state's fees and funding are also discouraging companies that depend on an educated workforce from locating in New Jersey.

Public colleges are feeling the pinch in other ways, cutting faculty, eliminating course offerings, and reducing hours for computer labs and other services. What's more, New Jersey's shrinking support for public education is part of a continuing trend, leading one observer to characterize the state's funding model as "broken."

“More jobs in the future will require college-educated workers,” said Phil Oliff, CBPP policy analyst and author of the report. “For the sake of its economy and future workforce, New Jersey should start reinvesting in its colleges and universities now.”

New Jersey public colleges have raised tuition by 13 percent to compensate, according to the report, which was the 7th smallest percentage in the nation; in Arizona and California, students are paying in excess of 70 percent more to attend public college than in 2008. That translates into an average increase of $1,429 per student, which puts New Jersey in the middle of all because of its already higher-than-average tuition – it costs about $12,000 in tuition and fees for New Jersey students to attend one of the nine state colleges this year, while the College Board reports the national average is $8,655.

Including fees, the increase has been higher than reported by the CBPP. According to data from the state office of higher education, costs rose 13.3 percent at Rutgers University, an average 16.7 percent at the four-year state colleges and 19.3 percent at the county colleges in the last five years. While still modest compared to national averages, that follows a period of large increases – in the prior five years, tuition and fees jumped by 46 percent at Rutgers, 53 percent at the state colleges and 30 percent at the county colleges.

Attracting Business

New Jersey Policy Perspective, a nonpartisan group focused on research and analysis of issues, termed the confluence of state funding cuts and tuition increases during a deep recession a perfect storm for New Jersey families that also has made it more difficult for the state to attract businesses that need a well-educated workforce.

“Despite the prevailing mythology that tax rates are the major factor in business location decisions, the evidence is overwhelming that it is the quality of the workforce that is most important,” said Gordon MacInnes, president of NJPP, a member of Rutgers’ Board of Governors and a former state legislator. “Nothing better measures workforce quality than educational levels, which is one of New Jersey’s greatest, but largely ignored, assets. Given this wisdom, one would expect that New Jersey would invest first in higher education instead of leaving it at the back of the line.”

Rochelle Hendricks, the state’s secretary of higher education, argues that New Jersey's public colleges and universities are not getting short shrift.

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