New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
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1: Important Agency Information to Note
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2: Types of Educational Providers Authorized
__X__ Public, in-state degree granting institutions
__X__ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__ Religious institutions
_____ Tribally-controlled institutions
_____ Federal Institutions
_____ Municipal institutions
____ Institution _____ Program ___X__ Both
All programs offered pursuant to the award of initial licensure by OSHE to an in-state institution must be authorized by OSHE. OSHE authorization for currently licensed in-state institutions that seek to offer new academic programs is required only in certain limited circumstances. However, all programs offered in NJ by out-of-state institutions must be authorized by OSHE.
3: Accreditation
Yes
Accreditation Required for:
__X__ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
_____ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
__X__ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__ Religious institutions
_____ Tribally-controlled institutions
_____ Federal Institutions
_____ Municipal institutions
First time in-state applicants for higher education licensure are not required to be accredited. However, all out-of-state licensure applicants must be fully-accredited to offer the kinds of programs that they seek to offer in NJ.
4: Exemptions
No.
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5: Authorization of Distance Education
No.
Yes.
No.
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6: Physical Presence Policy
N.J.A.C. 9A:1-1.2 – "Physical presence" means that an entity offers college credit-bearing courses from, or conducts some portion of the learning experience at, a physical location established in New Jersey by the entity, whether established directly or under the auspices of another entity or an institution, except in an instance where an interstate agreement that New Jersey is a party to delineates any particular activity as not constituting a physical presence in the State and the offering entity is both licensed in a signatory state to that delineating agreement and authorized by the signatory state to operate pursuant to that delineating agreement.
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7: Student Complaints - SARA Participating Institutions
OSHE complaint process for SARA is detailed at this link: https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/SARA.shtml
OSHE handles all complaints submitted on the OSHE complaint form.
Contact Name: Eric Taylor, Esq.
Title: Director of Licensure
Agency: OSHE
Address: P.O. Box 542, Trenton, NJ 08625
Email: eric.taylor@oshe.nj.gov
Phone: (609) 984-3738
URL: N/A
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8: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions
OSHE complaint process is detailed at this link: https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/OSHEComplaintInstructions.shtml
OSHE handles all complaints submitted on the OSHE complaint form.
No.
Contact Name: Suchir Govindarajan
Title: Special Assistant/Policy Analyst
Agency: OSHE
Address: P.O. Box 542, Trenton, NJ 08625
Email: Suchir.Govindarajan@oshe.nj.gov
Phone: (609) 984-2690
URL: N/A
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9: Surety Bonds
No
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NJ does not require a Surety Bond for institutions of higher education. Non-degree private career schools may be subject to different requirements overseen by different state agencies.
10: Tuition Refund Policy
No. There is no such policy for institutions of higher education.
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11: Student Tuition Recovery Fund
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12: Reporting
N.J.A.C. 9A:1-5.4 requires out-of-state institutions to submit an annual update to the information provided in the licensure petition pursuant to N.J.A.C. 9A:1-5.2(b).
Annually.
The records would be subject to a request made pursuant to NJ’s Open Public Records Act.
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13: Enforcement
9A:1-5.4(b) - If it appears from a review of the annual report that there has been a significant change in the offerings, the necessary resources, or the status of the institution, OSHE staff shall submit the matter to the Presidents' Council for review and recommendation to the Secretary for any appropriate action to be taken, including the revocation of licensure.
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14: Application Process
The application process for in-state licensure is detailed at N.J.A.C. 9A:1-1.3(a) to (f) and the application process for out-of-state licensure is detailed at N.J.A.C. 9A:1-5.1 to 5.5.
Institutions of higher education seek licensure in NJ via the submission of a licensure petition, which is an institutionally generated document. Guidelines and fillable forms for preparing a licensure petition are available at https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/licensure/forms.shtml.
15: Fees Associated with Authorization
Yes
Petitioning institutions are also responsible for all costs associated with the licensure review, which typically includes a site visit at either the NJ instructional site or the institution’s main campus by agency staff and an external consultant team. In addition, each consultant that participates in the review is to be offered an honorarium of $5,000 by the petitioning institution.
16: Records Retention
The process to ensure that transcripts/records are available is detailed at N.J.A.C. 9A:1-9.1(a)(3) Please note that NJ does not hold or maintain student higher education records for closed schools.
www.state.nj.us/highereducation/documents/pdf/licensure/licensureadoptionregulations.pdf
Agency Name: N/A
Contact Person: N/A
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Contact Address: N/A
Contact Email: N/A
Contact web site: N/A
OSHE will assist individuals with identifying the third party that holds records for a closed institution. However, OSHE does not hold or maintain student higher education records for closed schools. Please contact Eric Taylor, Esq. at (609) 984-3738 or eric.taylor@oshe.nj.gov for assistance.
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17: Additional Information
Please contact Eric Taylor, Esq. at (609) 984-3738 or eric.taylor@oshe.nj.gov for more information about NJ state authorization processes.