HOT TOPIC
Protect College Opportunity: Cut Trenton Red-Tape
The current call to action, which precedes the introduction of what will be a very austere FY 2011 budget for higher education, urges Network members to ask leaders in Trenton to make higher education a priority and support college opportunity, affordability and excellence at state colleges and universities through deregulation and elimination of state unfunded mandates. Deregulation gives presidents and trustees greater freedom to manage costs and serve students in tough economic times.
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Latest News
NJ Schools, Colleges Brace for State Aid Cuts
NorthJersey.com
February 12, 2010
Education leaders in North Jersey said Governor Christie's decision to freeze state aid midyear could lead to college tuition hikes, property tax increases and school staff cuts in the fall.
Christie said Thursday he would withhold $475 million in promised state aid to schools and $62 million in aid to public colleges and universities to help balance the current state budget.
The plan to cut $62.1 million in funding to the state's public colleges and universities is likely to trigger more hikes in a state where public tuition is among the highest in the nation, averaging $11,000 annually at the four-year schools.
In December, Christie met with higher education leaders and slammed what he called eight years of Democratic neglect. He promised that their schools would be a priority in his administration but warned that near-term cuts could be in the offing.
"We knew this was going to be a tough budget," said Paul Shelly, spokesman for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Read full story, here.
Aid Freeze Costs Colleges $62 million
Press of Atlantic City
Diane D'Amico (609-272-7241) DDamico@pressofac.com
February 12, 2010
The state's public colleges will lose about $62 million under the state's aid freeze announced in Trenton on Thursday by the governor, with $53.6 million of it coming from the four-year colleges.
The cut amounts to about a 6.3 percent decrease in their state aid this year.
Local college presidents say they realize they will have to share the budget plan this year, and they have already been working to keep their budgets tight both this year and next.
Richard Stockton College President Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr. said he believes Governor Chris Christie supports the colleges and has been fair.
"We realize there had to be some cuts," he said. Stockton will lose $1.4 million.
He said the state can take other steps to help the colleges. He cited allowing the colleges to enter into public/private partnerships, and engaging in projects like the solar canopies at Stockton, as examples of efforts that save money and benefit students.
Rowan University President Donald Farish agreed that giving the colleges more freedom to generate their own new revenue helps cushion the blow when state aid is cut.
Rowan will lose $2.6 million in aid, but Farish said increased enrollment this year and new revenue from continuing education programs will compensate.
"The more independent we can be, the better off we will be," Farish said.
The Association Today Outlined Steps That Can Be Taken to Help Keep College Affordable
November 23, 2009
The Association, today, outlined steps that can be taken, with the help of new leadership in Trenton, to help keep college affordable and institutions running at peak efficiency during a period of very high demand and very limited state resources.
- The state can free up the colleges from unproductive regulation to innovate and to help improve productivity. State colleges face burdensome regulations and millions of dollars in unfunded state mandates that tie their hands in contracting, purchasing, constructionk personnel management and that drain time, energy and money that can be used to improve service and accountability. The more than can be done to free up the colleges to be directly accountable, and without being choked by Trenton's red tape, the greater will be the benefit to students, public service and transparency.
- The colleges and universities can continue to use their freedom to improve productivity, keep costs in check to preserve college affordability, and build new programs prudently to serve the state. The institutions can continue eliminating unproductive programs, recruit the best faculty and staff, raise private monies to support student financial aid and new technology, and continue to improve as national models for excellence, accountability and ethical best practices.
- The state should fund state mandated costs such as labor contracts it negotiates, or eliminate such unfunded mandates. The state should follow the state mandate-state pay principles it follows for local government. Where the law requires that free service be extended to certain citizens, the state should simply reimburse the institutions in full for these costs.
- The state and its universities can create, immediately, a blue-ribbon study panel to examine the infrastructure needs of the state's public colleges and how these needs could be met through innovative funding approaches.
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Thank you for visiting the New Jersey College Promise Action Network! Welcome to a widening circle that now includes over 5,000 individuals: alumni, students, parents, friends, and many others.
Your participation will help raise public awareness of, and interest in, the important role New Jersey’s nine state colleges and universities play in educational attainment, economic development, and improving the quality of life for all who live in the Garden State.
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Advocacy Tips
When you write to your state officials…..
- Be brief and succinct. Get to the point quickly
- Be issue-focused, stay on one topic
- Feel free to mention your relationship to the colleges and universities and how you benefited from them
- Be cordial
- Be appreciative of the official’s responsibilities for policy issues beyond higher education and assume those you write about do care about the state colleges and universities have done some things in the past to help them
- Use facts to support your request for action
- Ask for action, e.g. “Will you support …….?”
Should you visit or talk to an official…….
- Follow the above suggestions plus…..
- Listen politely and attentively to what they say
- Get contact information for the official’s aide or staff person
- Offer to get answers to any questions you are not prepared to answer
- Contact NJCPAN officials about the results of your meeting and for help answering questions
- Send a follow up note thanking the official for his/her time and reiterating your points