This fall, Rutgers enrolled nearly 70,000 students—a record. Clearly, an education at Rutgers is in high demand these days. And why not? The experience for students  has never been better, offering a remarkable range of choices in academics, research, and student life. Improving the student experience was a priority outlined in A Strategic Plan for the New Rutgers, the university’s 2014 comprehensive self-assessment, and considerable progress for students has since been made. One big improvement for students stems from the countless advances that technology has brought to Rutgers. The myRutgers online portal, for instance, an improved personalized dashboard, brings college to students’ fingertips, allowing them to register for classes, discern graduation requirements, and address financial matters from their smartphones. Students, of course, are still being taught in lecture halls and classrooms, though now the venues are wired with the latest teaching tools for lecturer and student to engage each other. Residential life, reflected in new facilities chock-full of amenities, is more aesthetically pleasing and conducive to learning. Food offerings, served in modern dining facilities, place the accent on healthfulness, variety, and convenience. And students benefit as well from a range of counseling services, whether  addressing their mental health, academics, or postgraduation plans. Rutgers has never been more  committed to providing access to an affordable education, often to those who are the first in their family  to attend college. Perhaps best of all, students embark on their journey of academic achievement and  personal growth in a setting that promotes diversity—in all its enriching manifestations—to prepare  students for success in today’s rapidly changing world.  

Rutgers Academic Building at Rutgers–New Brunswick classroom

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

Learning Tools
New academic buildings are sprouting all over Rutgers, among them the Rutgers Academic Building at Rutgers–New Brunswick (pictured). They feature digital classrooms, loaded with the latest in technology to facilitate learning. Lecturers, making presentations from veritable command-and-control centers, have better interaction with students, who, laptops and smartphones at the ready, can share with professors  and one another. At Rutgers Law School holodeck lecture halls link the law school facilities in Camden and Newark by means of large screens, allowing a professor at either location to teach a live class. These synchronous lecture halls, being introduced across Rutgers, will help reduce student travel. The Chemistry and Chemical Biology Building at Rutgers–New Brunswick, a $115 million project largely funded by New Jersey’s 2012 Building Our Future Bond Act, was designed to facilitate collaboration by combining instructional spaces with flexible research spaces. The more than 6,000 students taking chemistry courses each semester benefit from the new classrooms and labs.

Students team up with faculty members to monitor the condition of lobster and fish off the New Jersey coast.

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

Extending the Classroom—Outdoors and Overseas 
Opportunities to conduct research outside the classroom have never been more plentiful. Students at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences team up with faculty members to monitor the condition of lobster and fish off the New Jersey coast. Rutgers Global offers students the choice of 180 study abroad and service-learning programs as well as other international experiences.

 

Livingston Apartments at Rutgers–New Brunswick

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Photography: 
John Emerson

All the Comforts of Home
Six residence halls have opened at Rutgers since 2012. Many of them are multi-bedroom apartments such as those found at the Livingston Apartments at Rutgers–New Brunswick (pictured). They have the latest in high-tech amenities and conveniences, replete with full kitchens, living rooms, and well-appointed bathrooms. At Rutgers–Camden, the 330 Cooper Street  residence hall provides students with generous living quarters—and grand views of Philadelphia and the waterfront. At Rutgers–Newark, 15 Washington Street, one of the city’s iconic structures, has been refashioned into contemporary residential space for students.

Medical student

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Photography: 
Don Hamerman

Rx for Students
Students enrolling at Rutgers have myriad choices in becoming a health care professional. Since its formation in 2013, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences has been preparing students in a range of disciplines through its schools, centers, and institutes. Rutgers recently partnered with RWJBarnabas Health, a comprehensive health care system in New Jersey. Now, students can match an extensive health care education at Rutgers with a robust clinical experience through RWJBarnabas Health, which will make a $10 million investment to retain top Rutgers medical students who establish their clinical practices within the new entity after completing their residencies.

Student using smartphone

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

Rutgers—at Their Fingertips
The myRutgers online portal, already being used by 96 percent of the student body, gives students a streamlined digital experience—through a mobile-friendly, customized dashboard—for accessing key services and information such as course registration, schedules, grades, financial aid, and degree progress. It’s already reducing lines and student traffic to and from administrative offices. Future enhancements will integrate links to housing, dining, and career services, among other options.  

Rutgers continues to develop one-stop administrative offices for serving students during the school year. Rutgers–Camden has opened a One-Stop Student Services Center, staffed with employees who help students with questions about financial aid, payment plans, records, registration, and student accounting. A one-stop service center at Rutgers–New Brunswick will open by the spring of 2020 and at Rutgers–Newark by the end of that year.

The Nursing and Science Building  at Rutgers–Camden

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

Bringing Life to the Life Sciences 
Rutgers has deepened its commitment to educating students to be tomorrow’s health care providers. The Nursing and Science Building at Rutgers–Camden (pictured), the Life Sciences Center at Rutgers–Newark, and the expanded Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy building at Rutgers–New Brunswick offer state-of-the art facilities where students can take advantage of the latest technology for learning and research.

 

Green money sign

Access to an Education
More than ever, Rutgers strives to provide an affordable education for students most in need of financial assistance. For qualifying families, Rutgers–Camden’s “Bridging the Gap” offers New Jersey students either a 50 or 100 percent reduction in tuition. Rutgers–Newark’s “Talent and Opportunity Pathways” (RU-N to the TOP) covers the cost of tuition for qualified Newark residents and for graduates of a New Jersey community college. Since their introduction, the programs have led to a significant increase in enrollment. Rutgers–New Brunswick sponsors the RU-1st Initiative, which provides students who are first-generation, low-income, and/or underrepresented with opportunities and resources to have a successful personal and academic college experience.

Students walking on Livingston Campus

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

Staying the Course
New scheduling software, soon to be unveiled, will help distribute classes so that courses are offered in optimal locations and classrooms are efficiently used. The system will reduce travel between classes for Rutgers−New Brunswick students and will cut the time-to-degree by optimizing course combinations so that students can take the courses they need to graduate on time.

 

 

Student being served at the Livingston Dining Commons

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

Fine Dining
With the emphasis on convenience, variety, and healthfulness, Rutgers dining facilities have transformed the experience of eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner, with menus and nutritional information available online. At the Livingston Dining Commons at Rutgers–New Brunswick, replete with fireplace and three dining rooms, food stations, such as the Mongolian grill (pictured), invite students to customize their order as it is prepared before them. For students on the go, takeout orders are available, and many of the independent food purveyors with a retail presence at Rutgers accept student meal plans.

We R Here
Rutgers offers a full range of psychological and counseling services for students. The “Enhancing Victim Services Throughout Rutgers University” project, for example, is made possible through a $2 million federal Victims of Crime Act grant and increases support for victims/survivors of sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking on campus. The project expands services for victims/survivors throughout Rutgers; trains students and staff to refer victims to services; and engages the university in a coordinated effort with the We R Here campaign to prevent and confront these forms of violence.

Students on Honors Building courtyard

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

Honors for Top Students
The Honors College in New Brunswick (pictured) attracts more than 500 high-achieving first-year students and is complemented by the honors programs in each of the schools at Rutgers–New Brunswick. The Rutgers–Newark Honors Living-Learning Community, moving to a new facility next fall for its 400 students, has drawn high praise for expanding the notion of an honors student to include social engagement in addition to academics. The Honors College at Rutgers–Camden had a record 156 first-year students this year and requires a commitment to community service among its 525 students.

Rendering of new Athletic Building

Peak Performance
The RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center will house a best-in-class sports medicine program and be accessible to the entire Rutgers community and the public. The multisport training complex next to the Rutgers Athletic Center will also contain top practice facilities for several Scarlet Knights teams competing in the Big Ten. RWJBarnabas Health, which recently entered into a health care partnership with Rutgers, made an $18 million investment in the program  and facility

Student taking online class

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Photography: 
Nick Romanenko

A Rutgers Education–Anywhere
Rutgers Online, the university’s 11 online degree programs, gives students the flexibility of learning anytime, anywhere while enjoying close online interactions with faculty and peers. For those students who would like a classroom experience but can’t make it to the university, there is Rutgers University Statewide. Rutgers comes to students through its relationships with six New Jersey community colleges where students, taught by Rutgers professors, can pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is an undergraduate degree-completion program that allows students with an associate degree from an accredited community college to transfer with junior status to earn a degree from Rutgers at off-campus locations.