Basic skills programs being implemented in New Jersey colleges are examined, and the statewide need for a centralized research and training institution that would inform, train, and provide technical assistance to college and secondary school educators and administrators involved with remedial and developmental instruction is proposed. Developmental education at the New Brunswick campuses of Rutgers University, which include Rutgers College, Douglass College, Livingston College, Cook College and University College, is outlined. Legislative support for basic skills programs at the postsecondary level is also reviewed. It is recommended that a division, department, or center for developmental education be instituted at the state university. Specific recommendations are as follows: that the center become the department of associates or fellows in developmental education; that the center provide graduate training for instruction and evaluation in developmental education; that the center conduct internal and field research, and that findings are disseminated throughout the state and region; that the center provide other departments with technical assistance in the area of faculty development; and that the center sponsor school articulation programs for the purpose of alleviating basic skills deficiencies at an earlier educational level. (SW)