TCNJ News
For Immediate Release
October 25, 2007
President R. Barbara Gitenstein’s Response to State Commission of Investigation Report on New Jersey Higher Education
I received a copy of the 189-page State Commission of Investigation report on New Jersey’s higher education institutions late this morning and am in the process of studying it now. There are, however, a few preliminary points I wish to make even after a cursory examination of the document.
I believe fervently that institutions should operate in a manner that is both accountable and transparent; several recommendations to that end are included within this report. It is interesting to note that, in fact, TCNJ has already implemented many of these very measures, including the creation of an audit committee within our Board of Trustees, adoption of accounting practices in keeping with those recommended by Sarbanes-Oxley for publically traded companies, the certification of financials by the president and treasurer, and establishment of both capital facilities and capital asset-renewal plans—to name a few. These are just some of the components of what we feel is a comprehensive and evolving effort to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of operations at TCNJ.
There are two points of the report to which I must object.
First, I take serious exception to the blame being placed on New Jersey’s state institutions for the rising cost of higher education and the levels of debt the institutions have incurred. Colleges should be judicious with their resources and operate transparently, but the cause of the increased tuition rates at the state colleges over the years is the dramatic decline in state financial support for higher education. The facts are that higher education receives a much smaller percentage of the state budget than it did a decade ago, that state appropriations have remained stagnant as institutional costs have risen, and that the state has not passed a facilities bond for higher education since the 1980s. It is true that like several other state institutions, TCNJ has invested heavily in first class facilities and thus incurred debt. We did so because we thought it was the responsible thing to do as educators. Had we not made these investments, 19-year old science labs and classrooms would be out of date and unable to accommodate the type of work currently being done there. Such a failure to invest would have left our students underprepared for their professions or graduate study, and the state lacking the educated work force that it needs.
Second, I am particularly disturbed by any implication drawn from a couple of anecdotes about political interference in trustee selection that could be extrapolated to find fault with our current Board of Trustee members. We are extraordinarily fortunate at The College of New Jersey to have a Board comprised of dedicated and talented individuals who devote unbelievable time and energy to providing for the welfare of the College and its students. They have offered me and our institution strong oversight and support throughout the years and are a primary reason we have flourished as an institution. Under their direction, we have seen our graduation rate jump from 56 percent (in the last year before the autonomy legislation) to 86 percent today. Our curriculum has been transformed to add depth and breadth to our students’ knowledge bases, and we are now regarded as both a top-tier competitive college and one of the best values in higher education nationally. I cannot overstate the roles our Trustees have played in these accomplishments.
The Board of Trustees and I look forward to participating in this important discussion about the future of higher education in New Jersey. We seek to enhance those very values of transparency and accountability that the SCI report purports to support while, at the same time, we seek to do so without creating unproductive bureaucracies that would limit the progress of TCNJ.
About The College of New Jersey
TCNJ currently is ranked as one of the 75 "Most Competitive" schools in the nation by Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, is rated the No. 1 public institution in the northern region of the country by U.S. News & World Report, and is one of Kiplinger's Personal Finance's top educational values in the country. In 2006, the College joined an elite group of institutions when it was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Fewer than 10 percent of the nation's colleges and universities share this honor.
