What programs must be on the list?                                                                             Under the Strategic Five-year Unified State Plan for New Jersey' s Workforce Investment System and State statute, all training funded by any public funding source and all proprietary schools must  be on the Eligible Training Provider List.  Additionally, to be eligible to receive any public funding, the program must meet quality criteria.

What qualifies a program to be approved for One-Stop funding?

1.       All programs approved for One-Stop funding, that is, funding from any of New Jersey's One-Stop Workforce Investment System partners, must be for occupations that are in demand.  Occupations in demand are on the labor demand list found on the LWD website, Labor Demand Occupations page.

2.       Providers of occupational skills training programs must:

a)  Align with and use existing nationally recognized, industry-based skill standards and certifications as the basis for developing competency-based learning objectives, curricula, instructional methods, teaching materials, and classroom/worksite activities;

b)  Prepare students or trainees to satisfy the employer knowledge and skill requirements assessed by related examinations; and

c)  Provide their students/trainees with the opportunity to take the appropriate exams and receive certifications corresponding to their courses of study.

3.       Programs desiring to be approved for One-Stop funding must complete a provider agreement prior to enrolling anyone funded by a One-Stop partner.  Please click here for a copy of the  Provider Agreement  

4.       Finally, programs must have successfully passed the program review conducted by the Center for Occupational Employment Information (COEI), which includes an opportunity for Workforce Investment Boards to evaluate the program.  Only COEI can designate that a program is eligible for One-Stop funding.

Note that inclusion of a training provider on the New Jersey Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) and designation as approved for One-Stop funding is not an entitlement for a prospective student to receive funding from any governmental source nor a requirement that the Workforce Investment Board or One-Stop Career Center make any referrals to the provider.  Moreover, the selection of an appropriate training provider is a mutual decision made by the counselor and the prospective student.

What is the Provider Agreement?                                                                                      Providers must agree to the provisions contained in the Provider Agreement to be on the Eligible Training Provider List.  Appearing on the list and being approved for One-Stop funding permits local One-Stop Workforce Investment System partners to issue Individual Training Accounts to the approved provider program. It is also a prerequisite for individual referral or class size contracts between the provider and the One-Stop system. Providers who do not agree to the terms of the Provider Agreement will not be on the list and consequently will be ineligible to be a provider of training for any of the One-Stop Partners. For a view of this document please click here Provider Agreement

What happens if I do not agree to the provisions in the Provider Agreement?                   Providers who do not agree to the terms of the Provider Agreement will not be approved for funding nor appear on the list. Consequently, they will be ineligible to be a provider of training for any of the One-Stop Partners.

What is a Credential?                                                                                                          In New Jersey a "Credential" means a credential recognized by the Department of Education or the Commission on Higher Education, or approved by the Credentials Review Board established by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to section 25 of P.L.2005, c.354 (C.34:1A-1.10).

New Jersey promotes the use of employer recognized skill credentials to provide students with durable skills that are portable and recognized nationally by employers. These credentials are almost always third party credentials attesting to skills and not merely certificates of completion granted by training providers.  Any questions regarding acceptable credentials will be handled by the Credential Review Board.

If my program contracts for classes because of its unique clientele, do I have to be on the list?

All Providers must be on the list to receive public money for education or training services. This includes Providers that contract for a class or course. For information on Customized training grants, please visit the LWD Website.

How does the online application process work?
Providers access the system through the Internet using the password assigned by COEI and enter or update the information on their schools and programs. Each program will be on its own record. Once reviewed and approved, the provider and program(s) will be placed on the Eligible Training Provider List.

If I don't have a computer with access to the Internet for this process, how can I get on the list?

You can enter your information by going to any One-Stop Career Center office and using the public access computers.

When can I add a new program to the list?                                                                         Programs can be added at any time; however, there is a delay between the time the information is entered onto the application and when it becomes part of the list and report card. This delay is due to the review process by both the Workforce Investment Board and the Center for Occupational Employment Information.

When can I be added to the list?                                                                                         The information will be uploaded as soon after entry of the information as possible. Usually, if the information is complete and meets the requirements of the system, it is made available within a one-week period.

Approval Agencies

How do I know which agency approves programs like mine?                                            Approval agencies are listed in the section "What is a "qualified" government agency?" above. If you are still not sure, contact the COEI staff  for more information.

CIP Codes

What is a CIP Code?                                                                                                           The Classification of Instructional Program Code is a national coding system that standardizes definitions for training programs.

Where can I find my CIP Code?                                                                                            The CIP codes are listed in the drop down menu on the program application. The CIP taxonomy is available on the LWD website  COEI Publications page

Can my program have more than one CIP Code?
There can only be one CIP Code for each Program. In addition, the program description for your program must coincide with the appropriate one provided in the CIP Manual.

Student Records

What student information must be reported?                                                                      Each training provider on the State Eligible Training Provider List must provide a record for each student enrolled. This information must include participant Social Security number, gender, date of birth, date of enrollment, date of completion or termination, start date of a job, date of application for a license, licensing examination result, issue date of a license, any credential issued, and other information as specified by the State Employment and Training Commission or Center for Occupational Employment Information.

The submission of individual student enrollment and exit information has to be completed for all students enrolled in any approved program.  Two individual records are required for each student, one at the time of enrollment and one at exit. All data is retained on secured servers in the Department of Labor & Workforce Development.

The timeframe for student records submission is:

          ~ Enrollments within 10 working days of the start of the program.

          ~ Exiters within 22 working days of the end date for the program

It is the provider's responsibility to maintain accurate records on their students.If the provider enters duplicate records, they are retained by the system as an audit trail; however, only the last record entered is used in the analysis of program results.

Why do we have to supply student information using social security numbers?                The Workforce Investment Act requires specific follow-up processes using the Unemployment Insurance wage record system which uses the social security number as an identifier. The use of this number for tracking outcomes is one of the permissible activities under the Social Security Law.

How will the system ensure confidentiality for all participants in the system?                   All data will be used in aggregate form only and significant efforts are made to ensure the data displayed or reported cannot be traced to any individual.

It is understood that this is sensitive information and acquisition and use of a student record containing the student's SSN will be governed by the provisions of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §406, Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. §522a, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. §1232g. Federal law does not prohibit a State or local agency from requesting voluntary disclosure by an individual to provide his/her SSN as long as the requests for disclosure are made in accordance with the Privacy Act.

How Do I Enter Student Records?                                                                                        Once programs have been created, training providers can enter information for students in each of their programs. Records must be entered when a student enters (enrolls) and leaves (exits) a program. This module consists of a web-based form that allows for input on a record-by-record basis. The forms have validation functions to ensure that the data being entered is correct.

Uploads and Downloads - The upload and download module allows training providers to input multiple student and program information in a batch format. Template files for Enrollment, Exit, and Program records are made available in MS Access, XL, and text (CSV) format. Data definitions are available for each file type. An upload mechanism allows providers to transfer data into the CRC database.

National Report System (NRS) for Adult Education - Some of the providers in the CRC provide Adult Literacy training. As such, they are required to file reports under the federal DOE National Reporting System. The NRS module offers Adult Literacy providers the ability to generate the 15 different reports and print copies of the reports to fulfill their reporting requirements.

Consumer Report Card

What is the Consumer Report Card?
The CRC allows customers to search for information and program outcomes for training providers.  The search results provide information on the various programs offered by each approved training provider, and allow the user to compare programs and providers based on information such as the location and length of training, the costs and any special services that may be offered. Users can also compare training providers by employment outcomes and other student results information.

How are the Consumer Report Card and the Eligible Training Provider List related?
The Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) provides the initial information for the Consumer Report Card that includes descriptive information on the school and the specific information relating to programs such as cost, hours, certifying agency, etc.

What is the Customer Comments section?                                                                        The customer comments module allows students to provide feedback on programs they have taken. A simple six-question survey is available for users to complete. Validation of the last 4 digits of the student's SSN ensures that the feedback is legitimate.

Costs

How should costs be provided?
Costs should be provided as per student costs and should reflect the cost that anyone would pay who receives no subsidy. If students generally receive a subsidy from any source, that should be placed in the remarks section of the application form.

Passwords

Why do we need passwords?
Passwords are needed to make the data entry site restricted to users who are authorized to have access.

How will passwords be assigned?
The Center for Occupational Employment Information (COEI) assigns passwords.  The passwords are system generated and unique to each provider. The Center for Occupational Employment Information sends the password via e-mail to the provider.

How can I get my password?                                                                                               If you need a password, email the request to michelle.sexton@dol.state.nj.us

Any additional questions should be sent to help@njtopps.org