S3683

SENATE, No. 3683

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

   

INTRODUCED APRIL 19, 2021

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator   M. TERESA RUIZ

District 29 (Essex)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

        Requires institutions of higher education to provide certain student loan information.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

        As introduced.

     


An Act concerning information provided by institutions of higher education and supplementing 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 Legislature finds and declares that:

        a.         According to the Institute for College Access & Success, New Jersey ranks in the top five states nationally for student loan debt amounts, with the average graduate leaving college approximately $34,000 in debt;

        b.       Despite New Jersey students graduating with significant debt, there is insufficient publicly-available demographic information on the State    over one million student loan borrowers;

        c.         The demographic information that is available, however, shows significant racial disparities in student loan outcomes. Borrowers in New Jersey   s communities of color face default rates two- to -five times higher than white borrowers in the State;

        d.       Even after factoring in financial aid, the average price of attendance at New Jersey   s four-year public institutions of higher education represents about one-third of household income for the State   s Black and Latino families, compared to just 17 percent of the State   s white families;

        e.         Stark differences in family wealth in New Jersey have resulted in enormous disparities for students based on race and ethnicity relating to their financial need for college and their ability to pay off student loans;

        f.         The development and implementation of informed policy to understand and address issues related to student loan debt, including related racial disparities in outcomes, requires access to reliable State-level data on how borrowers experience their debt burden; and

        g.       Expanding data collection and dissemination of information is crucial for understanding the extent of the burgeoning student debt crisis in particular communities in the State and for developing policies that prioritize equity in loan outcomes for borrowers.

 

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

        2.  a.  [A four-year public] 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.   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, if applicable:

        (1)     overall two-year and three-year graduation rates, and overall four-year and six-year graduation rates, as applicable;

        (2)     two-year and three-year graduation rates by demographic group, and four-year and six-year graduation rates by demographic group, as applicable;

        (3)     two-year and three-year graduation rates by major, and four-year and six-year graduation rates by major, as applicable;    

        (4)     two-year and three-year graduation rates for student-athletes, and 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, income, 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, income, 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, income, 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; [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;

        (18)   the number and percentage of borrowers of the New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students (NJCLASS) Program and the number and percentage of students with other forms of student loans; and

        (19)   for each three-year cohort of students who have graduated, transferred, or withdrawn from the institution prior to graduation, beginning with the first cohort following the enactment of P.L.       c.         (C.           ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and for each three-year cohort thereafter, the default rate of the bo