Responses Last Confirmed:

New Jersey Center for Occupational Employment Information

Agency Contact

Patricia Davis, Chief
--
trainingevaluationunit@dol.nj.gov

Additional Contact

Secretary of State Contact

Tahesha Way, Esq.
609-777-2581
feedback@sos.nj.gov
Topic

1: Important Agency Information to Note

a.
Provide any important information about your agency.

The Center for Occupational Employment Information (COEI) in the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development carries out state-level career information activities in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Education and the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. This includes making information and resources related to education and careers available electronically to workforce investment system clients, tailoring it to their needs by implementing human-centered design and design thinking methodologies, and providing a means for clients to provide feedback.

Topic

2: Types of Educational Providers Authorized

a.
Indicate the types of institutions that your agency authorizes. Please provide a short explanation of any ambiguity in the comment section below.

____ Public, in-state degree granting institutions
____ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
_X__ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
_X__ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_X__ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_X__ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
____ Religious institutions
____ Tribally-controlled institutions
____ Federal Institutions
____ Municipal institutions

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

____ Institution _____ Program ___X__ Both

c.
Clarifying comments:

Private for-profit and nonprofit institutions offering a course of instruction or instructional program utilized to prepare individuals for future education or the workplace may not operate without a Certificate of Approval from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the New Jersey Department of Education (N.J. Stat. Ann. § 34:15C-10.1; N.J. Admin. Code §§ 6A: 19-7.3, 12:41-1.1).

The Center for Occupational Employment Information does not authorize public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions, but will review and approve Eligible Training Provider List applications from public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions after first verifying that they are on their home states’ Eligible Training Provider List.

Topic

3: Accreditation

a.
Is accreditation required for an institution to be authorized in your state?

Accreditation is not currently required for non-degree granting institutions to be authorized in the state (N.J. Admin. Code § 12:41-2.2).

b.
If yes, please check all that apply as appropriate.

No response provided

Accreditation Required for:
____ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ 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
____ Religious institutions
____ Tribally-controlled institutions
____ Federal Institutions
____ Municipal institutions

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

4: Exemptions

a.
Are certain institutions or programs exempt by law or policy from your state authorization requirements?

Yes.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions? Which types of programs?

Institutions that offer instruction which is avocational, cultural, or recreational in nature.

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

5: Authorization of Distance Education

a.
Does your agency require purely online programs offered by out-of-state institutions to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

Yes, they must provide a governmental agency approval or approval on the home state’s Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL).

b.
If not, does your agency determine whether an institution must be authorized based on a physical presence (“operating”) standard?

No response provided

c.
Does your agency require correspondence study programs to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

Any institution with a physical presence must be authorized by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the New Jersey Department of Education.

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

6: Physical Presence Policy

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

Any private career or correspondence school that wishes to operate in New Jersey’s workforce readiness system.

b.
Web link for physical presence definition.
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

7: Student Complaints - SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about SARA participating Institutions.

Each private career school is required to have a student complaint resolution procedure published in its school catalog (N.J. Admin. Code § 12:41-4.2). Once that procedure is exhausted, students may complete and submit the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Center for Occupational Employment Information Conflict Resolution Questionnaire. The questionnaire is used to record all information about the student’s complaint(s). A Department Specialist is assigned to review the questionnaire and will, if necessary, contact the student and school for additional information. If the student complaint is regarding student loans, while they may warrant further investigation, please note that the complaint is separate and apart from the student’s legal obligation to repay the loan.

b.
Is the 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.)?

The process is handled within the Center for Occupational Employment Information’s Training Evaluation Unit, but referrals are made to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Office of Internal Audit, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, the Division of Consumer Affairs, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the Office of the Attorney General as needed based on the nature of the student complaint and available documentation.

c.
Web link for student complaints – SARA participating institutions.
d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

Contact: Stephanie Zacniewski

Title: Administrative Analyst 3

Agency: Center for Occupational Employment Information, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Address: P.O. Box 057, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0057

Email: trainingevaluationunit@dol.nj.gov

Phone: N/A

URL: https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/coei/teu.html

e.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

8: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs?

The Center for Occupational Employment Information does not handle complaints about out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs. If received, they are referred to the home state’s statutes, rules, and regulations.

b.
Is the 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.)?

The process is handled within the Center for Occupational Employment Information’s Training Evaluation Unit, but referrals are made to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Office of Internal Audit, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, the Division of Consumer Affairs, the Division of Criminal Justice, and the Office of the Attorney General as needed based on the nature of the student complaint and available documentation.

c.
Does this complaint process extend to institutions not authorized by the agency that may enroll residents of the state (such as explicitly distance education programs with no physical presence or exempt institutions)?

Yes.

d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

Contact: Stephanie Zacniewski

Title: Administrative Analyst 3

Agency: Center for Occupational Employment Information

Address: P.O. Box 057, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0057

Email: trainingevaluationunit@dol.nj.gov

Phone: N/A

URL: https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/coei/teu.html

f.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

9: Surety Bonds

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

A tuition performance bond must be submitted with the original application in the amount of $20,000 or five percent of average gross tuition income for the past three years, whichever is greater (N.J. Admin. Code § 12:41-2.2).

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

10: Tuition Refund Policy

a.
Does your state have a Tuition Refund Policy Requirement?

Yes.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

Private career schools.

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

11: Student Tuition Recovery Fund

a.
Does your state have a Student Tuition Recovery Fund (or similar fund for school closure)?

No, but there is proposed bill in the New Jersey legislature to establish a Private Career School Student Tuition Protection Fund, which would provide for a system of equitable refunds in the event of the closure of a private career school.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for student tuition recovery fund.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

12: Reporting

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

Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) renewal application and proof of government agency approval.

b.
How frequently do institutions report data?

Quarterly.

c.
Is this information published or shared publicly?

Yes.

d.
Web link for reporting.
e.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

13: Enforcement

a.
What are possible consequences of institutional non-compliance?

A Certificate of Approval may be suspended, revoked, or made conditional, if it is determined that the approved private career school has violated any of the provisions of N.J.S.A. 34:15C-10.1, N.J.A.C. 12:41, or N.J.A.C. 6A:19-7, or is found to be financially unsound (N.J. Admin. Code § 12:41-5.1). Further action may be taken by the Division of Consumer Affairs under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et al.)

b.
Web link for enforcement information.
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

14: Application Process

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

After reading Title 12 of the New Jersey Administrative Code, institutions must complete and provide all required application documents.

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

15: Fees Associated with Authorization

a.
Is there an application fee associated with the authorization process?

Yes.

b.
If yes, what is the fee or fee schedule?

The initial application fee is $1,150, and the renewal application fee is $900. Renewal application fees are paid bi-annually.

c.
Web link for fee information.
d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

16: Records Retention

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

At least 60 calendar days prior to closure of the school, or the cessation of instructional activity at the school, the school owner shall submit to the Training Evaluation Unit a completed Private Career School Close-Out Form, made available by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, as well as electronic copies of each enrolled student’s transcript (N.J. Admin. Code § 12:41-4.7).

b.
From what agency do students request their transcripts/records from a closed school?
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

17: Additional Information

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

No response provided