New Jersey's System of Higher Education at a Glance

NJ institutions of higher education offer over 3,800 degree and certificate programs.  90 complete programs and 3,500 individual courses are offered by distance learning. (search the inventory of approved programs)

30 English as a Second Language programs serve approximately 15,860 students, and approximately 10,000 disabled students receive special services.

56 Educational Opportunity Fund programs provide academic support services to 13,590 disadvantaged students. (learn more about EOF)

The aggregate five-year graduation rate for NJ's 12 senior public intitutions exceeds the US average.

$613,374,173 was expended on research in fiscal 2003.

The Institutions

Number of Institutions by Sector

• 19 public two-year community colleges
• 4 public state colleges and 5 comprehensive state universities
• 3 public research universities
• 14 independent colleges and universities with a public mission
• 16 other independent institutions (theological & proprietary)

• Undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs
• Research
• Academic support
• Noncredit offerings, including job training and continuing education
• Community service, including recreational and cultural events
• Small business support and technical assistance

Student Characteristics

Precollege programs serve approximately 20,300 financially/academically disadvantaged middle and high school students.(find a NJ precollege program)

Number of Students, by Sector (Fall 2006 totals)

Undergraduate students - 85% , Graduate/Professional - 15%
Full-time - 61% , Part-Time - 39%

Gender (Fall 2006) - 56.4% female, 43.6% male
Age (Fall 2006) - 61% 24 and under, 39% 25 and older

• New Jersey is a national leader in providing need-based student financial aid, and during the past decade the state has expanded its provision of merit-based aid.
  
• New Jersey ranked 6th in the nation in fiscal 2002 in the percentage of full-timne undergraduate students receiving state need-based grants.
  
• New Jersey ranks third among all states in the percentage of full-time undergraduates who receive need-based grants and in the need-based dollars it awards per student.
  
• New Jersey ranks sixth in the financial aid of any kind it provides to students as a percentage of total state higher education funding.
  
• During fiscal 2003, over 70,000 New Jersey resident undergraduate students received approximately $227 million in financial assistance from the state.
  
• The amount of need-based student financial assistance that New Jersey awards its students is greater than the federal Pell grant dollars that New Jersey resident students receive. For example, in the 2000-01 academic year, New Jersey grant aid for low-income students was 124% of the federal Pell grant aid. Nationally, federal Pell grants are the major source of need-based student aid, while the total amount of need-based aid awarded by the states averages between 50% and 60% of the federal dollars distributed in the form of Pell grants.

• Student enrollment is growing rapidly at New Jersey’s colleges and universities.
• More than two-thirds of New Jersey high school graduates attend college within one year of high school graduation, a college participation rate that exceeds the national average.
  
• Since 1997, total enrollment in New Jersey has increased by more than 35,500 students (about 11%). About 42% of the total enrollment growth since 1997 occurred between fall 2001 and fall 2002.
  
• The overall growth in undergraduate enrollment has been fueled by rising numbers of full-time undergraduates, while the enrollment of part-time students continues to decline.
  
• The majority of students enrolled at New Jersey colleges and universities are New Jersey residents.
  
• 40% of recent high school graduates were projected to attend college in New Jersey in fall 2002.
  
• 12,318 undergraduates transferred to New Jersey 4-year institutions in fall 2002.