About the Commission

The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, established by the Higher Education Restructuring Act of 1994, provides coordination, planning, policy development, and advocacy for the state's higher education system. The Commission is also responsible for institutional licensure and the administration of the Educational Opportunity Fund and other programs.

The Commission serves as the principal advocate for an integrated system of higher education which provides a broad scope of higher education programs and services. The system includes both 31 public and 32 independent institutions and enrolls over 385,000 full- and part-time credit-seeking students statewide.

The 31 public colleges and universities are comprised of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; the New Jersey Institute of Technology; 4 state colleges and 5 state universities; and 19 community colleges. The 32 independent institutions include 15 senior colleges and universities with a public mission, 2 independent two-year religious colleges, 9 rabbinical schools and theological seminaries and 6 proprietary institutions with degree-granting authority.