Bill Text: NJ A780 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Commission on Administrative Costs of Public Institutions of Higher Education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-11 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A780 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A780-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GERRY SCHARFENBERGER
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Commission on Administrative Costs of Public Institutions of Higher Education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing a commission to study the administrative costs of public institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established a Commission on the Administrative Costs of Public Institutions of Higher Education within the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. The purpose of the commission shall be to examine administrative costs at each public institution of higher education in the State and recommend ways in which those costs may be reduced or eliminated.
b. The commission shall consist of nine members appointed by the Secretary of Higher Education as follows:
(1) the president of a public research university, or a designee;
(2) the president of a State college or university established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, or a designee;
(3) the president of a county college, or a designee;
(4) three administrators exercising supervisory control over a public institution of higher education as a whole; and
(5) three current chairpersons of an academic department at a public institution of higher education.
Members shall serve for a term of four years except that the initial appointments for three of the members shall be for a term of one year, three for a term of two years, and three for a term of three years. Members shall be chosen to ensure broad geographic diversity and shall be eligible for reappointment for additional terms.
c. A vacancy occurring among members shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term.
d. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.
2. The commission shall
organize as soon as practicable after the appointment of a majority of its
members, but no later than 60 days after the effective date of this act. The
commission shall choose a chairperson from among its members and shall appoint
a secretary who need not be a member of the commission. The commission shall,
at minimum, meet on a monthly basis and at such other times as designated by
the chairperson.
3. The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education shall provide such stenographic, clerical, and other administrative assistants, and such professional staff as the commission requires to carry out its work. The commission also shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes.
4. The Commission on the Administrative Costs of Public Institutions of Higher Education shall, for each public institution of higher education in the State, examine the following:
a. the number of administrators exercising supervisory control over the public institution of higher education as a whole, or of specific academic departments;
b. the annual salary and benefits paid to each administrator;
c. the roles and responsibilities of each administrator;
d. the extent to which certain administrators serve duplicative roles and responsibilities;
e. the number of academic departments;
f. the number of faculty and staff assigned to each department;
g. the annual salaries and benefits paid to faculty and staff in each department;
h. the roles and responsibilities of the faculty and staff assigned to each department;
i. the extent to which certain faculty and staff in each department serve duplicative roles and responsibilities;
j. the ratio of faculty assigned to the department to the number of students enrolled in the academic programs offered by each department; and
k. any other information deemed relevant by the commission.
5. It shall be the responsibility of the commission to submit an annual report to the Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Senate Higher Education Committee, or their successor committees, detailing the commission's findings for each public institution of higher education in the State and recommending ways in which certain administrative costs can be reduced or eliminated.
6. This act shall take effect immediately
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Commission on the Administrative Costs of Public Institutions of Higher Education. The purpose of the commission will be to examine administrative costs at public institutions of higher education in the State and suggests ways in which those costs can be reduced or eliminated.
The commission would be composed of nine members: the president of a public research university, the president of a State college or university established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, the president of a county college, or their designees, three administrators exercising supervisory control over a public institution of higher education as a whole; and three current chairpersons of an academic department at a public institution of higher education.
The commission would examine, for each public institution of higher education in the State, the following:
(1) the number of administrators exercising supervisory control over the public institution of higher education as a whole, or of specific academic departments;
(2) the annual salary and benefits paid to each administrator;
(3) the roles and responsibilities of each administrator;
(4) the extent to which certain administrators serve duplicative roles and responsibilities;
(5) the number of academic departments;
(6) the number of faculty and staff assigned to each department;
(7) the annual salaries and benefits paid to faculty and staff in each department;
(8) the roles and responsibilities of the faculty and staff assigned to each department;
(9) the extent to which certain faculty and staff in each department serve duplicative roles and responsibilities;
(10) the ratio of faculty assigned to the department to the number of students enrolled in the academic programs offered by each department;
(11) any other information deemed relevant by the commission.
The commission would be required to submit an annual report to the Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Senate Higher Education Committee, or their successor committees, detailing the commission's findings for each public institution of higher education in the State and recommending ways in which certain administrative costs can be reduced or eliminated.
Each year, the cost of attending a public institution of higher education continues to increase. Despite the financial strain this places on students, many of the State's public institutions are unwilling to find ways to reduce the price of tuition. By creating the Commission on the Administrative Costs of Public Institutions of Higher Education, the Legislature can find ways to ensure that a college education remains both affordable and accessible.
