New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
Agency Contact
Additional Contact
Secretary of State Contact
1: Important Agency Information to Note
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
- 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
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.
2: Authorization of Distance Education
- 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.
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3: Accreditation by an Accrediting Agency Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
Yes
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
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: 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.
Does a virtual clinical / internship trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?
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5: 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.
6: 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.
7: 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.
8: Student Tuition Recovery Fund
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9: Tuition Refund Policy
No. There is no such policy for institutions of higher education.
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10: 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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11: 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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12: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions
OSHE complaint process is detailed at this link: https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/OSHEComplaintInstructions.shtml
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OSHE handles all complaints submitted on the OSHE complaint form.
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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13: 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
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.
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14: 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.
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Please note: There could be additional state agencies with oversight of activities of your institution.