WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

S 229

Requires institutions of higher education to collect and report employment data for certain graduates.

2026-2027 Regular Session Introduced by Linda Carter and 6 co-sponsors

The bill requires NJ colleges to publish a uniform, public report with costs, graduation outcomes, debt, transfer data, and graduate employment data.

Approved P.L.2026, c.15.
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 229

Summary of Bill S 229 (Session 222) — New Jersey

Purpose and intent

  • The bill expands reporting requirements for institutions of higher education under the New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act (P.L.2009, c.197).
  • It requires collection and public reporting of employment data for recent graduates, drawing from the New Jersey Statewide Data System.
  • The goal is to improve transparency about costs, graduation outcomes, and post-graduation employment and earnings to help students and families evaluate institutions.

Key provisions and changes

Section 2 — Student Consumer Information Report (amendment to P.L.2009, c.197)

  • Institutions must provide on their websites a comprehensive, publicly accessible student consumer information report that includes:
    • (1) Graduation rates: three-year, four-year, and six-year (where applicable), overall and by demographic group, by major, and for student-athletes.
    • (2) Student transfer rates.
    • (3) Transfer destinations of former students who left before degree completion.
    • (4) Cost of attendance for the current academic year (tuition, fees, room and board, books/materials). (5) Types and distribution of financial aid offered to student-athletes and non-athletes; including the percent of recipients and average aid values, disaggregated by athlete status. (6) For four-year institutions:
    • Total projected cost to live on campus and complete a degree in four years vs. commute costs, both for four-year graduation.
    • Total projected cost to live on campus and complete a degree in six years vs. commute costs, both for six-year graduation. (7) Average student loan indebtedness for graduates (two-year and four-year programs; on-campus vs. commute), disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, family income at admission, gender, and first-generation status. (8) Average student loan indebtedness for three-year and six-year graduates (same disaggregation). (9) Average indebtedness for students who transfer or withdraw before degree completion (same disaggregation). (10) Faculty overview: proportions of tenured, full-time non-tenured, and adjunct/visiting faculty; and the share of courses taught by each faculty category. (11) Indicator of each academic department’s capacity to serve its majors, as determined by the Secretary of Higher Education. (12) Number and percentage of borrowers for whom the institution has certified a supplemental student loan (disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, family income at admission, gender, and first-generation status). (13) Employment outcomes and earnings data for graduates, as available through the New Jersey Statewide Data System, for the three most recent academic years with data.
  • Institutions must provide a hard copy of the information to applicants with every paper admission application.

Section 2 — Standards and reporting format

  • Institutions must follow guidelines, criteria, and a uniform reporting method prescribed by the Secretary of Higher Education.
  • The Secretary annually compiles a comparative profile of all four-year institutions and publishes it on the Secretary’s website to facilitate cross-institution comparison for students and families.
  • The comparative profile must identify any racial disparities in student loan indebtedness and loan default rates.

Section 2 — Public site and application links

  • The institution’s website page hosting the student consumer information report must include a link to the Secretary’s comparative profile.
  • The online application site must include a link to the institution’s student consumer information report.

Section 2 — Verification requirement

  • The institution must require the applicant’s parent/guardian (or the student if independent) to sign and submit a statement acknowledging that they have reviewed the student’s review of the institution’s student consumer information report.

Section 3 — Administrative guidance

  • The Secretary of Higher Education will issue guidelines and a uniform reporting method for data collection and presentation.
  • The Secretary will annually compile the reports into a comparative profile and present it in an accessible format.

Effective date and timeline

  • Effective date: Immediate.
  • First applicability: The first full academic year following enactment.

Who and what is affected

  • Affects all institutions of higher education in New Jersey (primarily four-year, public and private).
  • Aims to impact prospective students, current students, families, and policymakers by increasing transparency around:
    • Costs of attendance
    • Graduation and transfer outcomes
    • Financial aid and debt
    • Faculty composition and academic capacity
    • Employment outcomes and earnings data for graduates (via the state data system)

Potential impact

  • Enhances transparency of cost, outcomes, and debt, enabling better-informed decisions by students and families.
  • Provides standardized, comparable data across institutions, with emphasis on disparities (race, ethnicity, income, first-generation status, etc.).
  • Ties application processes to information access, potentially influencing enrollment choices and financial planning.
  • Adds administrative requirements for data collection and reporting consistent with state standards.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.