Montclair State University

Students joined a roundtable with the president of Montclair State University and New Jersey's Secretary of Higher Education.

The coronavirus pandemic shattered any sense of routine held by New Jersey residents, but as weeks turned into months, the pandemic led to knew routines and behaviors that may be hard to break away from as "normal" life starts calling again.

"We've always been frustrated that the only thing people talk about when it comes to sex education is how well it prevents pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, when we know that comprehensive sex-ed is designed to do so much more," said Lisa Lieberman, public health professor.

Select colleges and universities in the Garden State are offering hope for normal operations come Fall 2021, whatever that may mean in the face of a lingering coronavirus pandemic.

Many institutions have, at least for now, completely or mostly eliminated their typical requirement that standardized test scores be included with prospective students' applications.

Much of the application and acceptance process for fall 2020 occurred before the coronavirus emergency impacted New Jersey.

"Our short-term costs this semester alone are $11 million, and this does not take into account what we may experience in the fall," said Rider University President Gregory Dell'Omo.

Montclair State University has received a multi-million dollar federal grant to establish a project to promote inclusive education in New Jersey public schools.

Tuesday marks one month since non-essential retail businesses in New Jersey were ordered to close their doors to customers, in response to the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus.

More than a dozen Garden State schools appear on U.S. News & World Report's 2020 Best Online Programs rankings, which evaluated more than 1,600 bachelor's and master's degree programs nationwide.