Princeton, TCNJ announce new cross-registration agreement for Fall 2026

The former College of New Jersey and the current College of New Jersey (TCNJ) are connecting this upcoming fall, with a new initiative where Princeton University students and TCNJ students will be able to cross-register in certain courses at each other’s institutions for no additional charge.

TCNJ offers courses in many subject areas not regularly taught at Princeton, including criminology, business, education, and nursing.  Princeton does not offer many pre-professional courses due to an absence of graduate-level professional schools. The agreement only applies during the academic year, and is set to run for five years. An evaluation will be conducted after the first two years.

This arrangement carries “the expectation that the agreement will be balanced over time and will benefit each institution commensurately,” University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian. 

TCNJ is located in Ewing, N.J., around 20 minutes from Princeton by car. According to Morrill, this agreement does not include any form of transportation support. 

“If either institution wishes to provide transportation to its students participating in this agreement, it does so at its own discretion,” Morrill wrote.

Academic administrators from both institutions and the instructor of the course must approve a student’s enrollment. 

According to Morrill, cross-registered courses should count towards a “student’s degree requirements at the home institution and will typically be courses at the same degree level.” Only one course per student may be approved each semester, and the course cannot be similar to one already taught at the home institution. 

The limited number of courses “aims to maximize accessibility and ensure highly intentional course selection,” TCNJ Vice Provost for Academic Engagement Tammy Dieterich wrote in a comment to the ‘Prince.’

“No single institution can offer every specialized course a student might desire,” Dieterich was quoted as saying in an official TCNJ press release. “By working together, we’re excited to provide this student-centered option and share the unique learning experiences led by our faculty.”

On the whole, TNCJ community members expressed enthusiasm towards the agreement.

“It gives TCNJ the opportunity to expand, as we do struggle with limited classes and professors,” said Aabish Mughal, a first-year at TCNJ. Mughal plans on taking advantage of the program in her junior or senior year, possibly with a class on biomedical imaging. “I definitely do think many students are excited and interested in this program.”

Kate Zydor, a junior and vice president for academic affairs in the TCNJ Student Government, echoed this sentiment.

“I’m always trying to get student feedback on developments like this, so I’ve been asking students around campus, ‘Hey, just what are your thoughts about this?’ And I have heard nothing but excitement,” Zydor said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’

On the flip side, some Princeton students acknowledged the opportunity to learn among a more local student body.

“Princeton students are from all over the world,” Isaac Bernstein ’28, chair of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG)’s Academics Committee, said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ “If you see nine out of 10 students from an in-state population [at TCNJ], that community is going to be able to teach a lot more about how Princeton students can engage within the New Jersey community.”

Bernstein is a former staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’

Abhinav Katkoori ’29 added, “a lot of people talk about the ‘Orange Bubble’ at Princeton, and … you feel detached from a lot of things.” 

“I think having students from other universities, not even just TCNJ, … there [would be] a very, very different perspective than what we could already find here,” he continued.

Many students and faculty members from both institutions had no prior awareness that this agreement was happening, although Zydor recalled previously speaking with TCNJ Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Margo DelliCarpini about expanded educational opportunities for students. 

“There have been many times where I’ve said to the provost, ‘If students want expanded opportunities, what can we do about that?’ And then, this was one of many responses to that,” Zydor said.

DelliCarpini did not respond to a request for comment.

Even after the announcement was released, however, students have had to rely on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn to learn about this agreement.

“I wish that they would have sent some kind of email to us as undergraduates to know, ‘how can we actually benefit and utilize this?’” Mattie Isaac ’27 said.

“Both campuses … can play a critical role in publicizing it and underscoring the academic rigor at TCNJ, because [Princeton’s] assumption may be, ‘Okay, we’re Ivy League, we’re among the best, so what can we really gain from going to this other institution?” TCNJ Associate Professor of African-American Studies and Criminology Michael Mitchell said. “The responsibility is shared, but I think that there may even be more of an onus on Princeton to really promote this.”

Morrill wrote that, when deciding to institute this agreement, they considered “sustained student interest reported by the College and the Graduate School in some of TCNJ’s offerings, including in its School of Education.”

The agreement is primarily intended for senior undergraduate or master’s students; however, “other students may be considered on an exceptional basis.”  

“Advanced undergraduates from Princeton may be approved to enroll in a graduate-level course at TCNJ on an exceptional basis, if all parties are in agreement,” Morrill wrote. “In no case will a graduate student from either institution be approved to enroll in an undergraduate course at the other institution through this agreement.”

Bernstein says he looks forward to taking classes at TCNJ with his friends.“We’re going to plan on exploring this opportunity senior year, just to continue to engage with the broader New Jersey pedagogical community and also explore this new fun opportunity to learn in a different environment with different students.”

Some rising seniors, however, do not see a cross-registered class in their future. 

“Next semester, I will be a senior, so it is my last year at college. The hard part about this cross-registration is it has to be a class that is not offered at your school. I would only take a class at Princeton to fulfill a liberal learning requirement, and I am already finished with that,” said Samantha Kwok, a TCNJ junior.

“At this point I just have senior year left, and so I already have most of my classes picked out,” Christian Ganter ’27 said. “But I can imagine, had I been coming in, I would definitely look at the program and see what was offered.”

“Every class I’m taking next semester is to fulfill a major distribution or minor requirement … that’s my biggest focus,” Isaac said. “If I was not going to be a senior, I would probably consider it more, but I’m just trying to finish the race.”

Each institution follows their own policies for schedules, deadlines, grading, and course credits, and cross-registered participants are expected to adhere to those policies. 

According to Morrill, both the Office of the Dean of the College and the Graduate School will update their websites to include additional information about how students will be able to participate in this new agreement.

Elizabeth Hu is a staff News writer, assistant head Copy editor, associate Data editor, staff Podcast producer, and contributing Features writer from Houston. She can be reached at exh[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.