🎓 NJ lawmaker pushes to freeze public college tuition
💸 Average student loan debt in NJ tops $37,000
🏛️ Bill has stalled four times amid Statehouse opposition
A state lawmaker is trying again to cap tuition at New Jersey’s public colleges and universities for the four years a student is earning a degree, as tuition costs continue to soar out of control.
ALSO READ: Real-life mermaids swim with sharks at NJ aquarium
The College of New Jersey (Google Street View)
The College of New Jersey (Google Street View)
NJ tuition cap bill targets rising public college costs
State Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, said she hopes that by capping the tuition, it will help reduce financial strain on families, and students will choose to stay in New Jersey, and not attend college in other states.
Her bill “prohibits public institutions of higher education from increasing resident undergraduate tuition for four continuous academic years following a student’s initial enrollment.”
The cap could be for longer than four years if a student’s major requires more than that, the bill stated.
It would take effect immediately and would first apply to students who initially enroll in public institutions of higher education for the following academic year.
Kean University (Google Street View)
Kean University (Google Street View)
Student loan debt in New Jersey exceeds national average
Turner told NJ Monitor that college has become unaffordable for many here in New Jersey, and because of that, the state is losing thousands of bright high school graduates to out-of-state colleges and universities.
“And once they leave, they don’t come back,” she told NJ Monitor.
On top of high tuition costs, Turner said housing and meal plans can double the price for a college education, or more, saddling students with debt for years to come.
According to the Education Data Initiative, New Jersey residents are more likely to have student loan debt and a slightly larger debt than the national average.
Rowan University (Google Street View)
Rowan University (Google Street View)
The report found that 13.1% of New Jersey residents have student loan debt, with the average debt being $37,287. The statewide student loan debt totaled $46.5 billion.
Among the state’s indebted student borrowers, 13.5% owe less than $5,000, whereas nearly 23% owe between $20,000 and $40,000.
District of Columbia residents have the nation’s highest average federal student loan debt at $54,561 per borrower.
North Dakota’s average federal student loan debt is $29,115, making it the only state where the average debt is less than $30,000.
Entrance to Stockton University
Entrance to Stockton University (6 ABC Action News via YouTube)
Bill stalls again amid higher education lobby opposition
Turner has introduced the bill four times since 2021, and it has failed to make it through the Statehouse every time.
She blames higher education lobbyists for the legislation’s paralysis, NJ Monitor reported.
Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom
Average New Jersey property taxes in 2025
Check to see whether your municipality’s average tax bill last year went up or down. Data is from the state Department of Community Affairs. Municipalities are listed by county and alphabetically.
Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5
