The COVID-19 pandemic has revamped the landscape of higher education, which has forced both universities and students to attempt to traverse through the advanced enrollment and financial challenges that have come right alongside it. 

Countrywide, but especially in New Jersey, the lack of high school graduates applying to institutions within the state since 2020 has created a chain of events that led to the rising of tuition costs and simultaneously led to universities operating on a strict budget.

Governor Murphy attempted to counteract this, by introducing a bill in 2021 with the hopes of lessening the burden placed on both the families of students and these institutions by creating the Garden State Guarantee (or GSG for short), which is a policy aimed at creating a more financially friendly environment, particularly for low and middle-income families. 

However, this left schools operating on a budget that was over $42 million dollars less than normal. The financial strain on students is only growing, which is leading families to reconsider the enrollment of their children in four-year institutions. The GSG, which was made in good faith and for the benefit of all, is simply not doing enough in my opinion. There is additional funding that needs to be provided by the state in order to flip the current state of the situation, the situation being in-state education not being a feasible option for incoming students. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional educational practices which in turn has created a domino effect that has had its effects reach universities and its students. Enrollment has been on the decline in the years since 2020 which in turn has caused tuition rates, not only in the state of NJ but across the country to rise. Only one-third of graduates choose to attend college within the state. Consequently, universities are forced to make budget cuts. With the financial plan that Governor Murphy introduced in 2021, schools are managing at about $42M dollars less than they are accustomed to. 

This is primarily affecting universities similar to ours, such as Kean, Montclair State, and Stockton University. This is in turn causing universities to raise their tuition prices, exponentially tightening an already crippling financial burden that four (or more) years of school has on students and their families. This is causing more students to take gaps in their education (if not completely opting for the workforce after graduating high school), opting for trade school or any other route that is financially friendly to them personally. 

The unsteadiness in the enrollment and the financial statuses of students and collegiate institutions has caused universities to cut down on specific programs in order to maintain their budget, further driving a wedge in the number of students opting not to continue their education immediately after graduating high school. 

Now after all of this, you might have questions regarding what the state has done to negate the negative effects the pandemic has had on students. 

While the Garden State Guarantee does have its flaws in my opinion, for students of families who make less than $65,000 a year, this policy does offer free tuition and fees explicitly in students’ junior and senior years. The policy, however, isn’t just limited to those making less than $65,000 as families who are making up to $80,000 annually are offered specific discounts. 

Now, the goal of the GSG is to inflate the availability of higher education, particularly for low to middle-class families, which includes minorities all while minimizing the financial burden four-year institutions place on families. However, the GSG has not changed the predicament that the state of New Jersey is in. 

There are fears that the GSG will not erase the financial stress and remove the need for operation budgets but only move the heavy costs to be more focused on, on and off-campus housing costs as well as dining and meal plans that are provided by the school. Also, there aren’t many people who are aware of the Garden State Guarantee. 

During the process of writing this, I myself had just come into contact with the GSG for the first time. Not only should there be more of a broadcast of the benefits that the GSG offers in order for the concerns regarding financial constraints to be countered, but the state of New Jersey must continue to increase the funding that it provides to state institutions. 

The accommodations that the state bestows on the institutions, may lead to more students choosing in-state four-year institutions, in place of trade schools or perhaps out-of-state universities.