Comparing Rowan and Stockton Universities

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Two of South Jersey’s universities are in expansion mode and we thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast their vital statistics, side by side, using data from the state budget. You can see that enrollment is up at both universities (so are fees) and state-funded positions are also up at Rowan University. It will be interesting to see whether the chatter around Rowan’s plans to expand in Atlantic City comes to anything, since Stockton University is rolling out ever-bigger plans for the city. On the one hand, expansion could bring more jobs and investment to the area, but on the other hand these institutions don’t pay property taxes. Since we wrote about Stockton’s plans to further expand in Atlantic City, we’ve also heard more people questioning the university’s debt load and its tuition costs, so we looked at the numbers. The amount of state support that Rowan receives is much greater – my guess is that this is tied to Rowan’s medical programs, but it’s not clear. And Stockton is slightly more expensive than Rowan, by these measures.

More about: Education, debt, rowan university, state budget, Stockton University, tuition fees

Design Co Seeks More Money For Stockton Aviation Park

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The infrastructure company that was awarded a contract to design the first building at the Stockton Aviation Research and Technology Park already wants to be paid more. Infrastructure company AECOM was last month granted an additional $41,234.00 for an amended contract worth $738,390.00, according to the minutes of the Atlantic County Improvement Authority’s August meeting. The extra money is needed because when AECOM submitted its original bid, the scope of the project was not yet finalized, according to the minutes. “Therefore, certain assumptions were made, and while some of these assumptions were correct, some were inaccurate,” the minutes state. Among the changes are an allowance to design a “Thunder Room” (a kind of top-notch conference room, apparently) and a roof-top deck.

More about: Atlantic City, Business, Government, aecom, atlantic county, atlantic county improvement authority, federal aviation administration, joseph ingemi

Ratings agency warns Stockton over debt for AC development

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Stockton University will have a “weakened financial position” after issuing new debt to build a parking garage and residence hall in Atlantic City, and it may look to raise tuition fees, according to debt ratings agency Fitch Ratings. Stockton, which gained university status last year, is borrowing $70 million to pay for the Atlantic City development and $211 million to refund outstanding debt and finance $25 million in projects at its main Galloway campus. Since the University’s operating results were in the red last year in spite of healthy enrollment growth, Stockton needs to trim expenses and raise revenue – likely by making tuition “adjustments,” the ratings agency said in a statement on Wednesday. Without those changes, Stockton would not be able to borrow for any further expansion projects without risking a ratings downgrade, which would increase the cost of its borrowing and further worsen its financial position. “Stockton’s operating results have been negative since fiscal 2014,” said Fitch.

More about: Atlantic City, Business, Atlantic City, debt, galloway, gateway development, south jersey industries, Stockton