For Immediate Release; with photos of Trooper Snyder, retired Trustee James Yoh and Brian Jackson

Contact:         Maryjane Briant 
                        News and Media Relations Director
                        Galloway Township, NJ 08205
                        Maryjane.Briant@stockton.edu 
                        (609) 652-4593
                        www.stockton.edu/media

Galloway, N.J. - Stockton University’s Board of Trustees today voted to keep an increase in tuition and fees t to 2 percent for the 2016-17 academic year and the 2017 summer semester.

“The financial challenges faced by many students and their families are a primary concern of Stockton trustees and the administration, faculty and staff,” said President Harvey Kesselman. “The University and its Foundation continue to expand fundraising for scholarships and we focus hard on fiscal management to minimize increases while providing a distinctive Stockton education.” 

For full-time undergraduates who live in New Jersey, the flat rate tuition will increase by $82.69 per semester to $4,217.33. 

Stockton’s flat-rate tuition program enables full-time students to take between 12 and 20 credits and pay the same rate. Students who take 20 credits can graduate sooner and potentially save thousands of dollars in the cost of classes and housing or commuting.

Educational and general fees were also held to a 2 percent increase, which for an in-state, full-time undergraduate is a rise of $36.14, to $1,842.93. The facilities fee will rise by $9.37 for undergraduates, to $477.88. 

For full-time post-baccalaureate, master’s and post-master’s candidates who live in-state, tuition will increase by $11.64 per credit hour, to $593.64. For in-state doctoral candidates, tuition will increase by $12.80 per credit hour to $653.    

All graduate school students’ educational and general fees will rise by $2.78, to $141.77, while facilities fees will total $36.76, up 72 cents. 

Out-of-state students pay higher tuition, as at all public universities and colleges, but pay the same fees as in-state students.

Rates for new external university housing on Chris Gaupp Road were established at $3,996 for a double per semester and $3,357 for a triple, which is at least $888 less per year than all other off-campus housing units. Stockton is in the final stages of completing a contract that will allow it to rent this new facility, which can accommodate 91 students in fully furnished rooms with internet and cable service, flat-screen televisions and microwave and refrigerator units.

James Yoh, who retired from the board after over 15 years as a trustee including as board chair, was honored for his service. He received a certificate of appreciation and a wooden chair in recognition of his role.

Yoh is founder of Galaxy Scientific Corporation, a leading innovative high technology entity in the Defense and Aviation industry in the United States, Kesselman noted. In addition to his service on the board, Yoh was a philanthropic leader who pledged $500,000 to establish the Yoh Foundation Scholarship Fund, Kesselman said

“I was a very lucky person to be associated with this institution,” Yoh said. “This is a small university. However, the larger ones are not necessarily better....This is going to be a better university.”

New Jersey State Trooper Kimberly Snyder also was recognized with a certificate of appreciation for going “above and beyond the call of duty to help our student,” Kesselman said. He explained that in May, student John Lancelotti’s truck broke down on the Garden State Parkway as he headed to Stockton for his final Chemistry exam.

Snyder, an 11-year veteran, gave Lancelotti a ride and he arrived at the university on time.

Brian Jackson, Stockton’s new chief operating officer of the planned Atlantic City Campus, was honored for his years of service to the university and the trustees so far, including as chief of staff. Jackson has served as the Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees from 1998-2016 under three presidents.

Jackson, an active civic volunteer, serves on numerous community boards including United Way. He has co-chaired for the last 10 years, the largest gathering of community volunteers in Southern New Jersey, as part of the nationally recognized Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service at Stockton.

The trustees also authorized the university to accept a state award and a state grant which together total nearly $2.4 million.

The Child Welfare Education Institute, which administers the Baccalaureate Child Welfare Education Program (BCWEP) and Masters Child Welfare Education Program (MCWEP) statewide consortia, will receive $2,002,675 to enhance New Jersey’s child welfare workforce at the entry and supervisory levels.

The two programs aim to encourage the next generation of social workers to enter professional positions within the New Jersey Department of Children and Families Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) and to provide an advanced education and degree to DCP&P supervisors.                                                                                                        

“Throughout the state, social work students in their senior year who are accepted into BCWEP take specialized coursework in child welfare, receive tuition support for a one-year DCP&P internship, and are then hired as entry level caseworkers upon graduation,” said Dawn Konrady, director of the institute. “In exchange, the students commit to working for at least two years to pay back the state’s investment. More than 433 students have completed the BCWEP since the program’s first cohort in 2004-05, with 408 graduates hired as of June 2016.”

The graduate program strengthens clinical and supervision skills as well as provides a tuition-assisted Master of Social Work degree for division supervisors. Since 2012, 74 students throughout the state have been admitted to MCWEP and 32 have graduated as of May 2016.

A $371,191 math and science partnership grant from the state Department of Education also was accepted by the trustees, for the first year of a two-year program by the Stockton Coastal Collaborative (SCC).

Faculty and staff from the School of Education, including its Southern Regional Institute and Educational Technology Training Center (SRI&ETTC), and the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics form the SCC and will be joined this year by the Stockton Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Collaborative, a newly funded university program.

They will assist K-8^th grade teachers from Galloway, Hamilton and Mullica Townships, Port Republic and Egg Harbor City as they implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) into their classrooms, said Patty Weeks, SRI&ETTC director. The new science standards require change in both the science content taught and in how teachers and students interact with the content, she explained.                                                                          

Stockton’s project will guide 35 teachers as they explore the disciplines of science through hands-on activities and experiences that support development of teachers’ instructional strategies and curriculum, enabling students to apply science learning in meaningful ways to the world around them, added Kim Lebak, associate professor of Education and co-director of the project with Weeks.

The teachers will attend a two-week summer program on Stockton’s campus where they will learn scientific concepts and practices related to ecosystems – interactions, energy, and dynamics and Earth systems, including the processes that shape Earth and the planet’s materials and systems, she explained.  Participants will also begin to develop curricular materials appropriate for use in their own classrooms.

Under the grant, teachers will be supported during the school year with additional workshops and classroom visits from Stockton faculty who will observe, support and demonstrate instruction.

Leighanna Ritter, a Stockton student studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management, was appointed to the board of Stockton Affiliated Services Inc. (SASI), a non-profit auxiliary organization that provides university services such as off-campus housing rentals for graduate students, faculty and staff; transportation and safety services; dining services and the campus bookstore. Ritter, of Bordentown, N.J., is a junior and also works in Event Services at Stockton.