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Bill > S1532


NJ S1532

NJ S1532
Applies provisions of "New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act" to proprietary schools and limits eligibility for State student assistance programs to students enrolled in certain proprietary schools.


summary

Introduced
01/09/2024
In Committee
01/09/2024
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/12/2026

Introduced Session

2024-2025 Regular Session

Bill Summary

According to a December 2010 report of the Education Trust, only one in five students who enrolls in a proprietary school graduates within six years and these students are likely to assume greater levels of student loan debt than students at public and independent colleges. The study reported that the median debt load for graduates at proprietary schools is $31,190, nearly twice the amount for graduates of independent colleges and four times the amount for graduates of public colleges. This bill prohibits proprietary schools from receiving direct State aid. The bill further provides that a student enrolled in a proprietary school will not be eligible to receive any form of student assistance from the State unless the school meets a specified graduation rate to be determined by the Secretary of Higher Education. The bill also included proprietary schools authorized to grant academic degrees within the "New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act." Specifically, the bill provides that each such proprietary school will have to annually disclose on its website various measures of student graduation rates, school costs, and student loan indebtedness, among other indicators of school quality. The bill also directs the Secretary of Higher Education to include the student consumer information reports submitted by proprietary schools within a comparative profile that it already prepares of four-year public institutions of higher education.

AI Summary

This bill extends the requirements of the "New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act" to proprietary schools, which are private institutions that offer academic degrees, and also limits their eligibility for state student aid. Proprietary schools will now be required to annually publish detailed information on their websites about graduation rates, costs of attendance, student loan debt, and faculty composition, similar to what four-year public institutions already do. The Secretary of Higher Education will oversee this process and include proprietary schools in a comparative profile of educational institutions. Furthermore, proprietary schools will be prohibited from receiving direct state funding, and students enrolled in these schools will only be eligible for state financial aid if the school meets a specific graduation rate set by the Secretary of Higher Education, addressing concerns about lower graduation rates and higher student debt at these institutions compared to public and independent colleges.

Committee Categories

Education

Sponsors (1)

Last Action

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee (on 01/09/2024)

bill text


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