Agency Information

Guide Topics

Agency Contact

Eric Taylor, Esq., Director of Licensure
(609) 984-3738
eric.taylor@oshe.nj.gov

Secretary of State Contact

Tahesha Way
609-292-6000
lt.governor@nj.gov

Topic 1: Important Agency Information to Note

Provide important web links:

What types of institutions are subject to this agency’s authority? Indicate the types of institutions that your agency authorizes.

  • Note: Some agencies may refer to out-of-state public institutions as “private colleges” in their law.  If this is the case for your agency, please select “public, out-of-state degree granting institutions” for purposes of this Guide so that the out-of-state public institution will find appropriate information.
  • Note: If your agency is a coordinating board, your agency may have one division with some authority such as program approval over in-state public institutions that are established per statute, which is structured differently than another division of your agency with state authorization authority over non-public institutions that they “license” pursuant to different statute(s).

__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

Does your agency authorize specific academic programs offered by institutions, only institutions themselves, or both?

  • For example, an agency may require an institution apply for licensure for institutional approval and also require the institution to apply for specific program(s) approval.

_____ Institution

_____ Program

__X__ Both

Clarifying comments:

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.

Topic 2: Authorization of Distance Education

Does your agency require exclusively online offerings offered by out-of-state institutions to be authorized?

  • Meaning as example, the state regulates an out-of-state institution for merely enrolling a student into a distance education program
  • Meaning as example, a solely online program that does not have any internships and practicums

No.

Clarifying comments

No response provided

Topic 3: Accreditation by an Accrediting Agency Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education

Is accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education required for an institution to be authorized in your state?

Yes

If yes, please check all that apply as appropriate. Accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education 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

Clarifying comments:

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.

Topic 4: Physical Presence Policy

If your agency uses a physical presence standard, how does your agency define physical presence? Include sample triggers.

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.

Web link for physical presence definition.

https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/licensure/regulations.shtml

Does a virtual clinical / internship trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

If a degree program offered by an out-of-State institution requires a supervised component, such as an internship, fellowship, or apprenticeship, for a certain degree, such a component, if conducted in New Jersey, will not be considered to constitute a physical presence, and therefore trigger authorization, so long as the following two criteria are met:

  1. The student-supervisor relationship is conducted on a one-to-one basis (for example, no group  review sessions or other gatherings); and
  2. The supervisor is not a permanent employee of the out-of-State institution.

Does a faculty member residing in your state and teaching an online course trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

No

Does advertising targeted to residents of your state trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

New Jersey does not consider marketing or recruitment activities for programs offered outside of the State to constitute a physical presence. Therefore, no authorization is required in order to conduct those activities in the State.

Does having an administrative site in your state trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

No, authorization is not triggered unless the institution offers some form of the educational experience within the State.

Does having a recruiter in your state trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

No

Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic 5: Application Process

Please provide a short description of the application process to obtain state authorization.

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.

Web link for application.

https://www.nj.gov/highereducation/licensure/initialpetition.shtml

Clarifying comments:

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.

Topic 6: Fees Associated with Authorization

Is there an application fee associated with the authorization process?

Yes

If yes, what is the fee or fee schedule?

https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/documents/pdf/licensure/nj-fee-schedule.pdf

Web link for fee information.

https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/licensure/feeschedule.shtml

Clarifying comments:

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.

Topic 7: Surety Bonds

Does your agency require a Surety Bond for authorized out-of-state institutions?

No

Web link for surety bonds.

No response provided

Clarifying comments:

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.

Topic 8: Student Tuition Recovery Fund

Does your agency have a Student Tuition Recovery Fund (or similar fund for higher education institution closure)?

No

If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

Web link for student tuition recovery fund.

No response provided

Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic 9: Tuition Refund Policy

Does your agency have a Tuition Refund Policy Requirement?

No. There is no such policy for institutions of higher education.

If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

Web link for tuition refund policy.

No response provided

Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic 10: Reporting

What kinds of information or data must an institution report to your agency as a condition for continued institutional state authorization?

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).

How frequently do institutions report data?

Annually.

Is this information shared publicly?

The records would be subject to a request made pursuant to NJ’s Open Public Records Act.

Web link for reporting.

https://www.nj.gov/highereducation/licensure/annual-report.shtml

Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic 11: Enforcement

What are possible consequences of institutional non-compliance?

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.

Web link for enforcement information.

No response provided

Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic 12: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions

Please describe the process for handling complaints about non-SARA out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs? (34 CFR 600.9(a))

OSHE complaint process is detailed at this link:  https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/OSHEComplaintInstructions.shtml

Web link for the non-SARA complaint form.

https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/documents/pdf/OSHEComplaintForm.pdf

How does your agency handle a non-SARA complaint from a resident of its state that is against an out-of-state institution that the agency does not authorize?

For complaints about:

Is the non-SARA process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

OSHE handles all complaints submitted on the OSHE complaint form.

Who is the contact person or entity for your state for receiving non-SARA student complaints?

Contact Name: Cecilia Williams
Title: Director of Communications
Agency: OSHE
Address: P.O. Box 542, Trenton, NJ 08625
Email: Cecilia.Williams@oshe.nj.gov
Phone: (609) 292-2223
URL: N/A

Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic 13: Records Retention

When a higher education institution closes, what is the process your state uses to ensure that transcripts/records are kept available?

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

From what agency or entity do students request their transcripts/records from a closed higher education institution?

Agency Name: N/A

Contact Person: N/A

Contact Phone: N/A

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.

Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic 14: Additional Information

Is there anything else about the state authorization process in your state that institutions and others ought to know about?

Please contact Eric Taylor, Esq. at (609) 984-3738 or eric.taylor@oshe.nj.gov for more information about NJ state authorization processes.

What is your preferred method of communication?

Email

 

Please note: There could be additional state agencies with oversight of activities of your institution.