Governor Proposes Increase in Funding for Higher Education
On February 22, 2007, Governor Jon Corzine proposed a state budget for fiscal 2008. While details of the impact on state funding for TCNJ are not yet clear, we are pleased the proposal seems to include increases to our base appropriation and funding of some salary increase for unit employees. Unfortunately, the governor's proposal continues to phase out the Outstanding Scholar Recruitment Program. It must be noted that the governor's proposal will now be debated and amended by the Legislature before a final budget is adopted this summer. We will provide further updates as the impact on TCNJ and higher education in New Jersey becomes clearer.
Statement from President R. Barbara Gitenstein on Governor Corzine's Budget Proposal
I am thankful that Governor Corzine recognizes the absolute need for increased support of higher education and am appreciative that he has proposed, despite the state’s significant financial constraints, additional funding for fiscal 2008. Higher education has gone without necessary and reliable support for more than a decade, and our colleges and universities will undoubtedly diminish in quality if they do not receive consistent and predictable funding going forward. The governor’s proposal is a step in the right direction, but it should be understood that the proposed increase will not cover anticipated new obligations from state-negotiated labor contracts or other mandatory cost increases.
One additional area of concern is the continued phase-out of the Outstanding Scholar Recruitment Program, which has provided an extraordinarily efficient means for keeping our state’s best students in New Jersey. We are facing a shortage of nurses and highly qualified teachers, and the statistics show that OSRP was helping address those problems. The numbers also prove that OSRP has helped retain New Jersey’s top science majors, who are vital to an economy so linked to the pharmaceutical industry. Eliminating the Outstanding Scholar Recruitment Program will negatively impact our economy, our educational system, and the quality of life of New Jersey residents. I hope that New Jersey can find the means to reinvigorate its commitment to merit aid for high-achieving students.
Pulling the plug on merit aid for college students
an op-ed by R. Barbara Gitenstein
New Jersey is pulling the plug on the state’s most successful merit aid program for college students by eliminating the Outstanding Scholar Recruitment Program (OSRP) from the state budget. That may not at first seem a concern for you, because the OSRP provides funding for only several thousand of New Jersey’s most academically talented students. The fact that this decision might not “directly” impact your bottom line as a business person or your own tuition bill as a student or parent of a student shouldn’t mislead you into thinking that this decision will have little impact on the economic future of your state. (Click for complete article)
What can you do?
First
Contact your local legislators and voice your support for the Outstanding Scholar Recruitment Program.
Find your legislators:
- State Senate and General Assembly
- Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
- Assembly Budget Committee
Second
Contact the governor's office and and voice your support for the Outstanding Scholar Recruitment Program.
