The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) joined a national initiative, the “Frontier Set” (FS), a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to identify successful strategies to improve graduation rates, especially for low-income, first generation and students of color. New Jersey City University (NJCU) is among six AASCU institutions across the nation selected to participate in the project.

The Frontier Set brings together 31 institutions and support partners representing the diversity of higher education, around ambitious goals for student success through institutional transformation. The Frontier Set is composed of state systems, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, and University Innovation Alliance members. Sites joining in 2017 include community colleges partnering with the Aspen Institute, and four-year regional comprehensive universities partnering with AASCU.

AASCU received a $6 million grant to work with a cohort of six high-potential regional comprehensive AASCU member institutions that are already integrating evidence-based solutions and showing significant improvement in their credentialing productivity—transforming key aspects of their educational and business models. AASCU will work with associations from other sectors of higher education, each with their own member institutions, to create a comprehensive set of ideas for institutional transformation across sectors. The six AASCU member institutions will accelerate their own institutional improvement work, share ideas and best practices with other institutions in the consortium, and disseminate best practices to other higher education institutions.

“The current pipeline of students approaching college age is dramatically different from what it was a generation ago. Yesterday’s nontraditional student is today’s traditional student,” said AASCU President Muriel Howard. “As we look to the future, stakes are high, and getting higher. The Frontier Set initiative is a testament of our commitment to accelerating and adapting innovative approaches that support student success and institutional transformation across our member universities. We are grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support of this innovative project.”

NJCU President Sue Henderson commented upon learning of NJCU’s selection for the Frontier Set, “NJCU is honored to be a lead partner in this critical effort to support student success and bring institutional transformation to higher education across our country. NJCU is absolutely committed to bringing innovation to our programs, to employing best practices, and to doing all we can to support positive student outcomes.”

For more stories about NJCU, scroll down:

Conference on ‘Redefining Risk for Family Businesses and Global Growth’
Five Students and Alumni are Semi-Finalists for the Prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Awards, 2017-2018
Gains National Ranking for Improving Students’ Economic Futures

The FS is a community of innovative thought leaders working together to drive institutional transformation and close opportunity gaps for every student, and they are charged with accelerating progress by sharing the “how” surrounding implementation and transformation. Their mission is to share in-progress work, build sustainable relationships, reflect openly, and capture best practices to accelerate progress.

“Increasing the number of Americans with college degrees is a critical national need,” said George Mehaffy, AASCU vice president for academic leadership and change. “Earning a college degree changes the trajectory of an individual’s life, affecting both the graduate and their family. But equally important, increasing the number of Americans with degrees improves the economy of the Unites States, makes us more globally competitive, and strengthens our democracy. We are delighted to be participating in this innovative new project, which will provide so many opportunities for all of our AASCU member colleges and universities.”

FS sites will focus on institutional transformation, including the integration of three key solution areas: (1) Redesigned Planning, Advising and Student Services; (2) Digital Learning and Next Generation Digital Courseware; and (3) Developmental Education Reform and Supports for Learning, while strengthening capacities that enable implementation and integration of the key solutions, including leadership, culture, strategic finance, IT infrastructure, institutional research and data, and policy.

All Frontier Set work focuses on the long-term outcome of significantly increased student completion rates. All Frontier Set participating campuses are committed to three goals:

1. Making It Work: Accelerate student success gains on their own campus by integrating solutions and strengthening capacities.

2. Understanding What Works: Seek to understand how their own campus is transforming itself, by exercising rigorous introspection and transparency.

3. Sharing What Works: Collaborate and share what the institution is learning with other participating campuses and with the rest of the AASCU member schools.

The FS teams from each of the six selected member institutions convened with the entire FS Network in San Diego, California, on February 1 to launch the four-year project.

AASCU institutions selected to participate in the Frontier Set project:

College of Staten Island, CUNY

New Jersey City University

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Northern Arizona University

Sam Houston State University (Texas)

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

NJCU’s Conference on ‘Redefining Risk for Family Businesses and Global Growth’

New Jersey City University (NJCU) School of Business Institute for Dispute Resolution hosted a scholastic conference, Redefining Risk for Family Businesses: Global Growth in the 21st Century, at the NJCU School of Business.

In an increasingly interconnected world, New Jersey is poised to become a center of international trade and dispute resolution of business specific conflict. New Jersey recently passed legislation entitled the International Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation Act, which makes mediated settlements binding as if they were judgements of the court. New Jersey is one of only six states in the country to pass such a law.

Opening remarks were made by Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, NJCU President Sue Henderson, and Choose New Jersey President and CEO Michele Brown. Three panel discussions followed. The conference concluded with remarks from State Senator Thomas H. Kean, Jr., who with State Senator Sandra B. Cunningham, sponsored the International Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation Act

The multi-disciplinary event was sponsored by Morgan Stanley; Jersey City Department of Housing, Economic Development & Commerce; Connell Foley, LLP; Genova Burns attorneys at law; the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, Withum Audit Tax Advisory, the law offices of Berkowitz Lichtstein, Garibaldi American Inn of Court, and New Jersey State Bar Association.

The program was attended by business-minded individuals such as accountants and tax advisors, attorneys, estate planners, wealth managers, mediators, and those who are involved in small to mid-sized businesses located within the State of New Jersey. The diverse speakers provided valuable information and networking opportunities that will allow one to grow business and client base.

Five NJCU Students and Alumni are Semi-Finalists for the Prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Awards, 2017-2018

Five NJCU students and alumni are part of an elite group of students selected as semi-finalists for the highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Awards for 2017-2018. The National Screening Committee selected these students from over 10, 000 applicants from various institutions, such as ivy-league, private, and state universities as well as liberal arts colleges and research institutions of higher learning.

NJCU’s Fulbright Semi-Finalists with Dr. Irma Maini, Professor of English and Fulbright Advisor (center left)

All five students were selected in the English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Fulbright grant: (from left to right): Fabiana Rebollo, English and Special Education, to Uruguay; Nicole Colon, Graduated in May 2016, English, to Malaysia; Professor Irma Maini, Fulbright Program Advisor; Ana Acosta, English, to Peru; Iqra Choudry, English and Secondary Education, to Indonesia; Rubi Cedeno, Women and Gender Studies, to South Africa

Established by the United States Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the largest international exchange program in the country, offering opportunities for students, teachers, scholars, and professionals to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 155 countries worldwide. Sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright program selects participants on the basis of academic merit and leadership potential. Irma Maini, an NJCU professor of English, is the Fulbright Program advisor at the University.

NJCU Gains National Ranking for Improving Students’ Economic Futures

The Equality of Opportunity Project Rates NJCU 23 out of 369 Selective Public Colleges

New Jersey City University (NJCU) received high marks for improving the upward mobility and economic futures of its students, according to a recent study of the role of colleges in intergenerational mobility released by The Equality of Opportunity Project.

According to the national study, titled, “Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility,” NJCU ranked 23rd for intergenerational mobility within a group of 369 selective public colleges. This means NJCU graduates have a considerably enhanced likelihood of moving up two or more income quintiles into the middle or upper classes.

With 44.8 percent of the University’s student body drawn from the lowest 40 percent of household incomes, the EOP findings—coupled with the University’s Debt Free Promise—affirm NJCU’s commitment to improving the financial futures of its graduates. Launched one year ago, the NJCU Debt-Free Promise Program is designed to make college education accessible and affordable for New Jersey residents who are pursuing their first undergraduate degree as incoming, full-time freshmen students.

To arrive at these findings, The Equality of Opportunity Project analyzed data from 30 million college students to construct mobility report cards. It ranked “mobility rate” by analyzing the fraction of a college’s students in the bottom fifth of the income distribution and the corresponding fraction that moves to the top fifth of the income distribution after graduation.

“As The Equal Opportunity Project study shows, NJCU is a catalyst for enormous change in its students’ lives. The University is enriching students’ lives academically and significantly increasing their intergenerational upward mobility,” NJCU President Sue Henderson said.

Dr. Henderson added, “NJCU is lifting students from the bottom 40 percent to the top 40 percent of earners in the nation as a result of their college experience at the University. NJCU provides a solid educational experience that helps prepare students for career success and keeps education affordable. In fact, ten years after graduation, NJCU students earn 22% more than the national average income and debt burden for NJCU graduates is the lowest of the public, four-year institutions in New Jersey.”

The Equal Opportunity Project used publicly available data, including students’ earnings and their parents’ incomes, for each college in America. For more information on the study, visit www.equality-of-opportunity.org.