Panel’s goal: Make college affordable
“This is a large task that we’re undertaking, but I’m very confident that we’ll deliver on the product.”
A panel tasked with studying the affordability of New Jersey's higher education system convened Wednesday afternoon for the first time, a largely organizational meeting where members settled on a framework for tackling their charge.
The law creating the panel gives it specific ideas to consider, including accelerated degree programs and a "Pay-It-Forward" model for paying tuition after graduating, before making recommendations in 18 months.
Not that the College Affordability Study Commission is limited to those ideas — the law also asks the members to examine "any other proposals that the commission believes would increase the affordability of higher education in the state."
"This is a large task that we're undertaking, but I'm very confident that we'll deliver on the product," Frederick Keating, the president of Rowan College at Gloucester County, said to his members.
The Gloucester County community college president was elected as chair of the board Wednesday. The other members are:
Robert L. Barchi, president, Rutgers University
Nancy H. Blattner, president, Caldwell University
Jonathan R. Boguchwal, analyst, Township of North Bergen
Donald C. Doran, vice president of student affairs (retired), Ocean County College
John Gorman, deputy research director, New Jersey Senate Republican Office
Timothy A. Haresign, professor, Stockton University
Ali A. Houshmand, president, Rowan University
Peter P. Mercer, president, Ramapo College
Giancarlo Tello, student, Rutgers-Newark
"If you look around the committee, there's not a lot of diversity here," Haresign said during a discussion of when and how to open the commission to public comment in the future. "We certainly need to hear from a lot of different constituent groups."
The other members agreed, and Keating noted public comment would "give some transparency to our conversation."
State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D., Gloucester) championed the creation of the commission, which went through several iterations before gaining approval of the Legislature and Gov. Christie.
At Keating's suggestion, the commission agreed to examine another set of specific ideas: a package of bills introduced by former Assemblywoman Celeste M. Riley (D., Salem) and former Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D., Union) that included developing free online textbooks, establishing a fixed-tuition system, and eliminating mandatory meal plans.