This first systemwide report on New Jersey higher education examines how well the state is meeting its goals for higher education affordability and accessibility, institutional excellence, and effectiveness in addressing societal and economic needs of the state. The six sections of the report include: (1) an introduction, which stresses the importance of higher education in fulfilling the needs of individual students and serving society, and sets forth the accountability parameters on which this report is based; (2) an overview of the state system of higher education (types of institutions, enrollments, degrees awarded, and educational attainment); (3) faculty (teaching faculty, professional development, and research faculty); (4) affordability and access (costs of attending college; how affordability affects access; programs to improve access; student preparation for college; retention, transfer, graduation and time to completion; and equality of access and success); (5) return on investment (higher education's contribution to state economic development, benefits of higher education to society, comparisons of New Jersey with other states, student satisfaction, alumni satisfaction, and employer satisfaction); and (6) a concluding section which sets out some major policy questions on access, affordability, and productivity; on equity of access and outcomes; and on undergraduate education versus research and graduate education. (Contains 47 references.) (CH)