Mercy College is leasing three campuses that have been home to the financially troubled College of New Rochelle (CNR). The leasing covers the upcoming academic year.
The Business Journal had reported in June that CNR”™s real estate was being listed for sale and that a lease had been negotiated through 2020 for an educational institution to use the space. Details of the leasing arrangement, including identification of the lessee, were not disclosed at that time because the arrangement had not yet been approved by the state Department of Education. CNR ceases academic operations on Aug. 10 and holds its final commencement on Aug. 20.
Mercy will be leasing CNR”™s main 15-acre campus in New Rochelle as well as the Rosa Parks campus on 125th street near the Apollo Theater in Harlem and its campus in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The lease for New Rochelle property is with CNR and the leases for the Harlem and Brooklyn sites are with their respective landlords.
Mercy College announced on Aug. 6 that it plans to register nearly 1,700 students from CNR for fall classes. It will be teaching most of the programs CNR had offered and has made offers to hire 70 faculty and staff who have been working at the school. In addition to faculty, it made job offers to CNR support staff, operations, campus safety and information technology personnel.
Mercy College said it will provide students with tuition rates that are similar to, or lower than, what they had been paying at CNR.
“We are eager to welcome these students to the Mercy family this fall and would like to thank CNR President William Latimer and his dedicated team for helping us achieve this momentous success,” Mercy College President Timothy Hall said.
While Mercy College has received approvals from the state Department for Education, as of Aug. 6 it was waiting for approval from the Middle States Commission for Higher Education to teach at the three CNR locations. In addition, it was awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Education to offer financial aid at those sites.
Mercy College said that it continues to work closely with students in the transfer process, which includes making sure that the credits they”™ve earned at CNR are accepted and applied to the appropriate degree paths.
Bravo Mercy College soon to be University! I am a proud Alum of this fine instituion. I know the future is bright for all who encounter this institution of Higher Learning.
That is awesome! Just today I saw the Mercy College in Harlem and asked myself, “since when does Mercy have a campus in Harlem?” I too am a proud alum of Mercy and will forever be a Maverick!