TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Shirley K. Turner that directs institutions of higher education and proprietary degree-granting institutions to provide the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) with graduation and transfer rates of State tuition aid grant recipients was signed into law today.
The legislation, S-1753, will facilitate the greater collection of data from all institutions of higher education to ensure the state is appropriately monitoring its return on investment at all of the state’s institutions for higher education. The legislation codifies HESAA regulations requiring reporting and posting of student graduation and transfer rate information.
“Transparency in higher education outcomes is an increasingly important issue as more students attend college, debt loads increase, and prospects for young people in the workforce remain uncertain,” said Senator Turner (D-Hunterdon/Mercer). “Graduation and retention rates provide important insights for students and families during the college selection process, before they get saddled with debt.”
Under the law, all institutions of higher education will be required to annually provide HESAA with detailed information on the graduation rates of State tuition aid grant recipients. The institutions would also be required to post this on their websites. For cases involving community colleges, the college will be asked to provide HESAA with the transfer rates of the State tuition aid grant recipients.
“Our taxpayers spend millions to support tuition aid grants for students that may not return to college,” said Senator Turner. “We need to know how many students that receive financial support are actually graduating to ensure that our taxpayers’ investment is not being wasted. We can also better meet the needs of our students to make sure that they have what they need to succeed and can reach their employment attainment goals and contribute to our state’s economy.”
S-1753 will take effect immediately.