N.J.S.A. 18A:3B-46 — Definitions relative to structure and fiscal management of higher education.

18A:3B-46 Definitions relative to structure and fiscal management of higher education. 1. As used in this act: "Commission" means the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education established pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1994, c.48 (C.18A:3B-13); "Public research university" means Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Rowan University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Montclair State University, and Kean University; "State college" means the State colleges or universities established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. L.2009, c.308, s.1; amended 2012, c.45, s.69; 2017, c.178, s.39; 2021, c.282, s.39. 18A:3B-47 Secretary of Higher Education. 2. The Governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Secretary of Higher Education who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor during the Governor's term of office and until a successor is appointed and qualified. The appointment shall be made after consultation with and recommendations from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and the New Jersey Presidents' Council except that the person holding the office of executive director of the commission on the effective date of this act shall be the initial Secretary of Higher Education. The secretary shall hold cabinet-level rank and shall serve as executive director of the commission. L.2009, c.308, s.2. 18A:3B-48 Audit committee. 3. a. The governing board of a public research university or a State college shall establish an audit committee. The chairman of the committee shall have accounting or related financial management expertise and the governing board shall make efforts to ensure that a majority of the members of the committee have such expertise. b. The audit committee shall have a written charter that addresses the committee's purpose and responsibilities which shall include, but not be limited to: (1) assisting the board in ensuring and safeguarding the integrity of the institution's financial statements; (2) assisting the board in overseeing and evaluating the performance of outside auditors retained by the institution; (3) assisting the board in overseeing and evaluating the performance of the institution's internal audit function; (4) ensuring that allegations of misconduct or conflict of interest are evaluated and investigated; and (5) ensuring the institution's compliance with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements. c. The audit committee shall prepare an annual audit committee report for submission to the institution's governing board. d. The committee shall keep minutes of its meetings. L.2009, c.308, s.3. 18A:3B-49 Internal auditor. 4. The governing board of a public research university or a State college shall approve the appointment of an internal auditor, who shall have a direct reporting relationship to the board, the president, and the chief financial officer. The internal auditor shall periodically test and report on the institution's internal controls to the audit committee, the institution's president, chief financial officer, and other senior members of the institution's administrative staff. L.2009, c.308, s.4. 18A:3B-50 Independent outside auditor. 5. a. The governing board of a public research university or a State college shall retain an independent outside auditor who is a certified public accountant to conduct an annual audit of the institution's financial accounts in accordance with nationally recognized auditing and accounting standards adopted by the commission. The independent auditor shall be selected by a majority vote of the members of the board present upon the recommendation of the audit committee. The governing board of the institution shall not retain an independent auditor that employed the president, chief financial officer, controller, chief accounting officer, or any person holding an equivalent position at the institution during the one-year period preceding the audit or that fails to meet any other limitations or restrictions established by the commission. The governing board shall ensure the independence of the auditor. b. The independent outside auditor shall report his findings to the audit committee. The audit committee shall review the problems identified through the audit with the institution's president, chief financial officer, and other senior members of the institution's administrative staff who shall evaluate the independent auditor's findings and file comments in response to those findings with the audit committee. c. The audit committee shall report the findings of the independent auditor and the evaluation of those findings by the institution's senior staff to the governing board of the institution. The audit committee shall recommend actions it deems necessary to rectify any identified deficiencies in internal controls. L.2009, c.308, s.5. 18A:3B-51 Submission of audit to commission. 6. a. The president and chief financial officer of a public research university or a State college shall submit the annual audit to the commission and shall certify that they have reviewed the financial statements and that, based on their knowledge, the financial statements do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omission of a material fact that makes the statements misleading and that, based on their knowledge, the financial statements present in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the institution. b. A public research university or a State college shall retain institutional financial statements for a minimum period of time in accordance with accounting principles of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. L.2009, c.308, s.6. 18A:3B-52 Policies, procedures for reports of wrongdoing, confidentiality. 7. In accordance with standards established by the Attorney General, the governing board of a public research university or State college shall establish written policies and procedures that provide confidentiality in the reporting of alleged wrongdoing at the institution and protect employees from retaliatory action in accordance with the provisions of the "Conscientious Employee Protection Act," P.L.1986, c.105 (C.34:19-1 et seq.). L.2009, c.308, s.7. 18A:3B-53 Recommendations for penalties for noncompliance. 8. The commission shall submit to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), recommendations for the establishment of penalties for noncompliance with the provisions of sections 4 through 7 of this act, unless such penalties are otherwise established by law, including, but not limited to, fines and disciplinary action to be imposed upon a public research university or a State college or a member of the governing board or an employee of the institution. L.2009, c.308, s.8.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 18A:3B-46, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.