TCNJ Open Option Facts

Provided by the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment

• Approximately 20-25% of entering first year students at TCNJ do not enter into a declared major, but choose to enter as “Open Option” – and this number has been growing:

• Open Option students as a group reflect the demographics of the college, with slightly fewer men and students of color electing to enter Open Options than into a declared major.
• There are no differences in the academic backgrounds of students entering Open Options and those entering into a declared major.
• There are no significantly differences in retention, time to degree and graduating GPA, between students who enter Open Options and those entering into a declared major.
• Open Option students are asked to affiliate with one of the seven schools within TCNJ which is home to the majors they think they are most interested in.  This allows them to receive developmental advising either directly from, or coordinated by, the Assistant Dean of that school.
• Open Option students have fewer major changes than students who enter into a declared major, although they do tend to formally declare the major from which they ultimately graduate later than those who aren’t Open Options.
• Open Option students do not always graduate from a major within the school of their original affiliation, and neither do those who enter into declared majors, although they do so a bit more often.