Mercy finalizes deal to absorb College of New Rochelle

Mercy finalizes deal to absorb College of New Rochelle
Schneps Media/Alex Mitchell

The deal has been finalized between the College of New Rochelle and Mercy College to automatically admit CNR students into Mercy after CNR’s announced closure at the end of August.

The two schools announced the agreement that will be “creating a seamless pathway for CNR students to continue their education,” while in the process of obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals to fully effectuate the agreement on Tuesday, March 5.

This comes after the schools inked a memorandum of understanding, outlining the planned transition on Monday, February 25.

Both Westchester-based schools each have Bronx campuses, Mercy’s is at 1200 Waters Place in the Hutch Metro Center while CNR’s has its school of New Resources based in Co-op City.

Any CNR student considered to be in good standing will be given the opportunity to transfer to Mercy College per the deal. Most CNR students will see the same or lower tuition and will not lose credits or time toward graduation, according to a statement from the two schools.

“Despite our successes, the financial status of the college underscored the necessity to identify an institution that would provide a safe haven for students first and foremost while also doing our best to protect faculty and staff and CNR’s Ursuline legacy,” said CNR’s president, William Latimer.

The financial difficulty he’s referring to was a “financial crisis” in 2016 that CNR was never able to truly recuperate from.

“More than providing [CNR students] a new educational home, the agreement has been carefully considered and implemented over many months to go above and beyond to create a seamless pathway for CNR students to join the Mercy College community with minimal disruption to their academic careers,” said Mercy College president Timothy Hall.

After August, CNR students will have the opportunity to begin the fall 2019 semester at Mercy College.

“Our recent academic growth and strong financial profile make this rare opportunity possible and, the long-term impact will be a stronger Mercy College,” Hall continued.

CNR representatives also explained that Mercy’s 90-plus undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs within its five schools align well with CNR’s programs.

The two institutions also stated that Mercy College and CNR share a number of similar program offerings, most notably in nursing studies and adult education, which encompass the greatest number of current CNR students, Mercy is also in the process of seeking regulatory approval for degree programs not currently offered at Mercy College for its new coming CNR students.

Mercy College won’t be strapped with CNR’s overwhelming debt as part of the deal either. One way the college plans to attain the necessary assets to admit the CNR students is to lease out portions of CNR’s campuses.

In the wake of transition, the possibility of closing CNR’s Co-op City campus is being considered due to its close proximity to its Waters Place campus but a decision on that has not been finalized as of press time.

Mercy also announced in statement that it “hopes to retain many of the CNR faculty and to continue to use some of CNR’s current facilities in New Rochelle and at some of its New York City campuses.”