WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

A 2135

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

2026-2027 Regular Session Introduced by Linda Carter and 3 co-sponsors

The bill requires colleges to publish annual, detailed employment and debt data for recent graduates on their sites to enhance transparency for prospective students.

Substituted by S229
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · A 2135

Summary of Bill A-2135 (Session 222, New Jersey)

Purpose and intent

  • This bill amends the New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act (P.L.2009, c.197) to require institutions of higher education to collect and publicly report specific employment outcomes data for recent graduates.
  • The overarching goal is to improve transparency around post-graduation employment and earnings, helping students and families make informed enrollment decisions.

Key provisions and changes

Expanded reporting requirements (Section 2)

  • Institutions must provide on their public website a comprehensive “student consumer information report” that, in addition to existing data, includes employment data for recent graduates.

  • The annual report must be updated and posted on the institution’s website, and must include (where applicable) the following items:
    1) Graduation rates (overall for 3-year, 4-year, and 6-year as applicable).
    2) Graduation rates by demographic group (3-, 4-, 6-year as applicable).
    3) Graduation rates by major (3-, 4-, 6-year as applicable).
    4) Graduation rates for student-athletes (3-, 4-, 6-year as applicable).
    5) Student transfer rate.
    6) Overview of institutions to which former students transferred before degree completion.
    7) Current annual cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room, board, books/materials).
    8) Description of financial assistance offered by the institution (directly to student-athletes and to non-athletes).
    9) Percent and average value of financial aid received by student-athletes and by non-athlete students.
    10) For four-year institutions: projected total cost for an incoming freshman to live on campus and complete a degree in four years, and to commute, for four years.
    11) For four-year institutions: projected total cost to live on campus/commute for six years.
    12) Average student loan indebtedness for two-year and four-year graduates (live-on-campus vs. commute), disaggregated by race/ethnicity, age, family income at admission, gender, and first-generation status.
    13) Average student loan indebtedness for three-year and six-year graduates, with the same disaggregation.
    14) Average student loan indebtedness for students who transfer or withdraw before degree completion (live-on-campus vs. commute), with the same disaggregation.
    15) Overview of the institution’s faculty composition (percentage tenured, full-time non-tenured, and adjunct/visiting).
    16) Percentage of courses taught by each faculty category.
    17) An indicator of each academic department’s capacity to serve students in that department’s programs (as determined by the Secretary of Higher Education).
    18) Number and percentage of borrowers for whom the institution has certified a supplemental student loan, disaggregated by the usual demographic breakdowns.
    19) Employment outcomes and earnings data available through the New Jersey Statewide Data System for graduates of the three most recent academic years for which data is available.

  • Additionally, the institution must provide a hard copy of the information with all paper admission applications.

Compliance and reporting standards (Section 2b–2d)

  • Institutions must follow guidelines, criteria, and a uniform reporting format prescribed by the Secretary of Higher Education.
  • The Secretary will annually compile all four-year public institutions’ student consumer information reports into a comparative profile, presented on the Secretary’s website to facilitate easy cross-institution comparison.
  • The comparative profile must identify racial disparities in student loan indebtedness and loan default rates.

Accessibility and links (Sections 2d–2f)

  • Institutions must ensure their website pages hosting the student consumer information report include a link to the Secretary of Higher Education’s comparative profile.
  • Online application pages must include a link to the institution’s student consumer information report.
  • Institutions must require a signed acknowledgment from the applicant (or guardian, if dependent) that they reviewed the student consumer information report.

Reporting framework (Section 3)

  • The Secretary is tasked with issuing guidelines and criteria for collecting and calculating the required information and prescribing a uniform reporting method.

Effective date and applicability

  • The act takes effect immediately but first applies to the first full academic year following enactment.

Who/what is affected

  • All institutions of higher education in New Jersey (including public and, where applicable, four-year institutions) that are subject to the New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act.
  • Prospective students and their families who seek to compare costs, graduation outcomes, and post-graduation employment data.
  • The Secretary of Higher Education, which will issue guidance and maintain the comparative profile.

Potential impact

  • Increased transparency on post-graduate outcomes and debt burden, enabling more informed college choice.
  • Greater visibility into employment outcomes via the New Jersey Statewide Data System.
  • Emphasis on equity through disaggregated data (race/ethnicity, income, gender, first-generation status).
  • Possible administrative burden on institutions to collect and format a broader set of data annually.

If you’d like, I can provide a side-by-side comparison with the current law (P.L.2009, c.197) to highlight exact additions.

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

Sign in to ask a question.