affordability | Capital Analytics Associates

South Jersey’s higher-ed sector at the forefront of workforce readiness

By: Yolanda Rivas

2 min read March 2020 — Education affordability, talent retention and the demographic change of fewer students going onto college are some of the challenges facing the industry. Educational institutions in South Jersey and the state government are placing a particular focus on affordability and workforce readiness.

Many universities and colleges now see that workforce development and curriculum updates are necessary to meet the demands and needs of employers and the jobs of tomorrow. That is the case of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors. Part of its mandate is to facilitate collaboration between Rutgers-Camden and Rowan University in the development of curricula and programs related to health sciences.

“Presently, we are working together to respond to projected employment growth in healthcare professions,” said Dana Redd, CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors, in an interview with Invest:. “Some of the initiatives that we have launched include a Medical Assistant workforce development and training program for graduating high-school students from Camden’s traditional public schools.”

Another projected demand is the increased need for healthcare providers to assist individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia-related disorders. In anticipation, the board launched the Alzheimer’s Navigator Program in 2017. “The curriculum is taught by Camden County College. Inspired by the Patient Navigation model in oncology, Alzheimer’s Journey Coordinators aim to improve access to care and treatment for people with Alzheimer’s,” Redd said.

A challenge not only affecting South Jersey but the whole country is declining enrollment rates. Data from the State of New Jersey’s Office of the Secretary of Higher Education shows that the overall number of people attending higher education institutions in the state slightly declined over the last decade.

Unlike some universities that are struggling with declining enrollment, Rowan University doubled enrollment in the past 10 years to 19,600. During that time, the university transformed from a well-regarded regional university to a nationally ranked, Carnegie-classified R2 research university. According to Ali A. Houshmand, President of Rowan University, the STEM fields and businesses are the areas seeing the greatest growth. “We built new facilities for our colleges of engineering and business three years ago and doubled enrollment in their programs,” he said.

“Another growth area is our medical schools. We are one of only three institutions in the nation to offer both M.D. and D.O. medical degrees. Our commitment to medical education is important given the nation’s growing physician shortage,” Houshmand stated in an interview with Invest:.

Community colleges also play a key role in the workforce development of any community. In the southern New Jersey region, Camden County College (CCC) offers the most certification programs. According to CCC’s President Donald Borden there is great demand for machinists in the region. “Companies come to hire them as soon as they become proficient,” Borden told the Invest: team.

“Students trained in robotics, automobile tech and optometry all find work after graduating. We offer some of those programs that are not traditionally seen as higher ed, but they have been in very high demand,” Borden said. Business and education and criminal justice are also in-demand programs at CCC.

To fulfill the needs of the employers and provide access to education for all students, it is imperative that colleges, universities and government provide initiatives for education affordability. In February 2020, Gov. Phil Murphy announced the “Garden State Guarantee,” which is a $50 million investment in four-year senior public colleges and universities through his proposed FY2021 budget that would allow all eligible New Jersey undergraduate students to attend any public college or university in the state tuition-free for two years.

“We know students drop out of college — or worse, rule it out as an option for them — because they believe the price tag is unaffordable. After more than a decade of decreased state investments in higher education, our administration’s innovative plan creates a path for broader college affordability,” Gov. Murphy said in a written statement. “This complementary program underscores New Jersey’s continued commitment to tuition-free community college. We remain laser-focused on retaining in-state talent through our Jobs NJ initiative and expanding opportunities for low-income communities and communities of color.”

The program complements similar existing efforts at William Paterson University, Rutgers-Camden, Rutgers-Newark, and New Jersey City University. According to the “Garden State Guarantee” official press release, the guarantee builds on existing state programs to make college affordable, including financial aid provided to students through the Community College Opportunity Grant, Tuition Aid Grants and New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarships.

To learn more about our interviewees, visit:

Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors: https://rurcbog.com/

Camden County College: https://www.camdencc.edu/

Rowan University: https://www.rowan.edu/

State of New Jersey: https://nj.gov/governor/index.shtml

Spotlight On: Michael Cioce, President, Rowan College at Burlington County

By: Yolanda Rivas

2 min read February — Rowan College at Burlington County looks out for its students and has established several partnerships with the private sector to ensure a smooth transition from the classroom to the workplace. Still, shrinking birthrates on the East Coast present a challenge to remain competitive in the state, according to Michael A. Cioce, president of Rowan College at Burlington County.

What are the main qualities that distinguish Rowan College from other institutions in the region?

Access and affordability are built into the DNA of the institution. We have no direct competition within our county boundaries, but the state of New Jersey unfortunately has challenges. Many of our students have been recruited by Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware, among others, and it puts the responsibility on us to deliver a high-quality educational experience.

We have approximately 9,000 students in any given semester, which makes us a medium-sized institution. Despite that number, my cabinet, my deans, directors and I all know our students. You are not going to come here and just be a transaction, and that matters to students because they have options and alternatives. We have competitors encroaching on our front door. Online education has grown exponentially over the last 20 years, so students can go wherever they want and I think that value that the personal connection provides differentiates us from many larger institutions.

In tandem with that, we have linkages directly into our local workforce, which assists students in gaining entry into the workforce.

What are the college’s most in-demand programs and courses?

Anything related to the health sciences sector. Our nursing program has a waiting list, and demand greatly outpaces available seats. Part of that is that students know they are going to be employed upon graduation. Our partnership with Virtua Health System, one the region’s largest healthcare employers, is amazing. Our students are not going to graduate with us simply saying, “good luck.” Through our workforce development programs and partnerships, such as that with Virtua and other employers, our students are getting real on-the-ground training that allows them to cross seamlessly into a job. Many of our students are offered employment prior to graduation.

We partnered with an economic analytics firm to conduct an economic impact study that uncovered three prongs where this institution drives value to the area. First, obviously, is training the students locally. They are coming to our campus, living nearby, buying food at local restaurants and working here. Second, as an employer. We employ over a thousand people in any given year, probably more than that. We are not the size of Virtua, but we are not a Mom and Pop store. Third is alumni: students who trained here, stayed here, and are also going to be champions of this institution. That is sort of our hat trick that scores big for the region. The report determined that RCBC’s economic impact on the Burlington County regional economy is $504.9 million in a year.

What are the main challenges facing both Rowan College and the education system at large in South Jersey?

The birth rate has declined over the last 20 years and as a sector that is heavily reliant on high-school graduates, the enrollment curve is going to be challenging over the next couple of years. This is something that is larger than the college and the county, it is actually affecting the entire East Coast. As a community college, we enroll many adult students and we are not entirely reliant on that 12th-grade population. We have a higher percentage of adult learners than our peers, which gives us a little bit of a buffer, but the overall trend, is definitely going to be a challenge because as the main pool of students shrinks, there is going to be increased competition for them.

To learn more about our interviewee, visit:

Rowan College at Burlington County: https://www.rcbc.edu/

Addressing Health Disparities in South Jersey

By: Yolanda Rivas

2 min read February 2020 — The healthcare and education sectors are significant contributors to the economic growth in the South Jersey region. Amid this growth, healthcare leaders are focusing on making healthcare accessible to the underserved population.

According to the latest Leading Health Indicators Profile Report Index, the access to primary care for the state was not met as of 2017 and there is little or no detectable change in the trend. However, the objectives related to the infant death rate, the death rate due to coronary heart disease and teen obesity have been met, while the objectives for childhood immunization are improving. The leading health indicators are part of the Healthy New Jersey 2020 objectives to communicate high-priority health issues and actions to address them.

Private and nonprofit healthcare organizations are also playing a key role in addressing healthcare disparities across the state. Such is the case of the charitable, nonprofit organization Inspira Health, which is present in two of the poorest counties in the state: Cumberland County and Salem County.

“The social determinants of care are problems that cross areas; they are not necessarily healthcare-related. But our goal is to take care of people who live near here and who need our help,” John DiAngelo, president & CEO of Inspira Health, told Invest:. “We have been able to do that for the 20 years that I’ve been with Inspira Health. In fact, we are the only hospital in Cumberland County,” he said.

Access to basic health treatment due to transportation and affordability is also a big challenge in the region. One of the largest private employers in South Jersey, Virtua Health, is looking to make healthcare accessible to the underserved through its mobile and home-based programs. Virtua Health President and CEO Dennis W. Pullin said in an interview with Invest: that its health system has re-invested over $400 million in the treatment and prevention of chronic health issues over the last five years.

“We also have an active mobile program, in which we take certain services closer to where our patients live or work. For instance, our mobile pediatric unit provides screening for lead blood levels, flu shots and other services that many times are not available to children due to transportation or affordability issues. We also have a mobile mammography unit, with which we provide over 900 free mammograms yearly to women who are uninsured or underinsured. We have a mobile farmers’ market to provide fruits and vegetables to people at a below-wholesale cost. This year, we distributed over 75,000 pounds of fresh produce,” Pullin said.

Education and awareness are also big factors in the path to make health more accessible. Rothman Orthopaedic Institute is focusing on creating more partnerships to provide affordable care and improve community health, while raising awareness in the communities they serve.

“We look at the social determinants of health and we do community outreach programs to help raise awareness of ways to improve bone and musculoskeletal health in the communities. We are ahead of the game in understanding what needs to be done to reduce costs,” Rothman Orthopaedic Institute’s president, Alexander Vaccaro, said in an interview with Invest:. “We are looking to create more relationships with healthcare systems and health insurance companies. That is the right thing to do. We are working together with multiple stakeholders to make healthcare safer and more affordable.”

The Healthy New Jersey 2020 objective is to increase the proportion of adults aged 18 and older with a personal doctor or healthcare provider to 90.0 percent. According to the most recent data from New Jersey State Health Assessment Data, in 2017, 79.2% of New Jerseyans reported having at least one person they think of as their personal doctor or healthcare provider.

To learn more about our interviewees, visit:

Inspira Health: http://www.inspirahealthnetwork.org/

Virtua Health: https://www.virtua.org/

Rothman Orthopaedic Institute: https://rothmanortho.com/

South Florida Collective Combats Gentrification in Palm Beach

By: Sara Warden

2 min read November 2019 — As the 2018 federal tax code kicks into effect, capping deductibility of state and local taxes, demand has skyrocketed for luxury real estate in low-taxing states such as Florida. In the third quarter of 2019, the median price for a luxury home in Palm Beach tripled on the year to $21 million compared with $7.7 million in the same quarter of 2018.

As luxury house prices increase, single family and condo prices are also going up, according to a report by real estate appraisers Miller Samuel. In 3Q19, average sales prices for a condo reached $418,849, up 4.4% on 3Q18, and for a single family home the average price was $11.4 million, up 121.6% on the year. Tellingly, average price per square foot was up across the board, at $1,468/ft2 for a single family home during the quarter compared with $1,363/ft2.

The area is quickly gentrifying, with the Virgin Trains USA express service that runs through the county also pulling up house prices and pushing down affordability. In this environment, creating affordable housing for the residents of Palm Beach becomes ever more pressing. Now, the public and private sectors are joining forces to take action and create the South Florida Housing Link Collaborative, an ambitious affordable housing project.

The project will target the route of the Brightline, deploying a $5 million investment by JP Morgan Chase to upgrade existing units and build new, more affordable accommodation. “Transport is the biggest expense after housing,” said Mandy Bartle, executive director of the South Florida Community Land Trust (SFCLT), to the Miami Herald. “We decided to hone in on this corridor because the people who most need public transit are a lot of the folks who already live in these areas near the railway and are the most likely to get pushed out by gentrification.”

As well as the $5 million in direct investment in the project, it is expected to garner $75 million in external capital from both the public and private sectors. Joining the SFCLT is the Community Land Trust of Palm Beach County, nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, Florida Community Loan Fund, and the Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF). SELF provides small loans to homeowners for solar energy or hurricane-resilience technologies, providing $10 million worth of loans in their 10 years in business.

Duanne Andrade, the chief financial officer at SELF, said in an interview with Next City that those living on the path of new transit projects are often the most vulnerable to gentrification. Cindee LaCourse-Blum, executive director of the Palm Beach County CLT, added that climate change compounds the problem.

“Housing and transportation eats up the majority of incomes in Palm Beach County, in addition to the risks that we are seeing with climate change and sea-level rise and a lot of people coming back into the urban corridor and gentrifying those neighborhoods,” she said to the same publication. “What I’m hoping to see is that residents of these communities have access to safe, affordable, resilient housing, and they’re not pushed out of their neighborhoods.”

To learn more about our interviewees, visit:

http://southfloridahousinglink.org/

https://www.millersamuel.com/

https://southfloridaclt.org/

https://cltofpbc.org/

https://www.enterprisecommunity.org/

https://fclf.org/

https://solarenergyloanfund.org/

South Jersey’s higher-ed sector at the forefront of workforce readiness

Spotlight On: Michael Cioce, President, Rowan College at Burlington County

Addressing Health Disparities in South Jersey

South Florida Collective Combats Gentrification in Palm Beach

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