In the proposed college merger, Rowan University would take over UMDNJ’s School of Osteopathic Medicine. Some students have raised concerns about how the move would affect accreditation while others are worried about the cost of the plan. UMDNJ Interim President Denise Rodgers told NJ Today Senior Correspondent Desiree Taylor that she believes the merger proposal will be a benefit for the state’s institutions.
Rodgers said some raised questions during the hearings about the accreditation of the School of Osteopathic Medicine. “I think that students are correct in their concern that if they were to graduate from a school that’s unaccredited it would be problematic for them, however I have no doubt whatsoever that Rowan is going to do everything in its power to assure that SOM maintains its accreditation as will the leadership of the school,” she said. “So I don’t actually have any concerns that SOM will lose its accreditation through this process.”
The issue of reputation has come up on numerous occasions during talks about the proposed merger with some saying both Rutgers and UMDNJ have better reputations than Rowan.
“I think that the issue of reputation is quite variable depending on who you talk to and where,” Rodgers said. “Certainly there have been issues for UMDNJ in terms of its reputation and name.” She added that merging SOM into Rowan University is an attempt to raise the stature and reputation of the school.
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Cost has been a huge issue in merger discussions. Rodgers said specifics about the price tag haven’t been released, but it might not be as much as some think. “My own sense certainly having been involved in the integration process to date is by merging all of UMDNJ into Rutgers it will actually cost less than it would have to just merge the central portions of UMDNJ into Rutgers,” she said. “But the devil’s in the details and I think at this point we actually don’t have a full accounting of what the cost will be.”
While Rodgers said it concerns her that the cost hasn’t been made clear, officials are working to figure out the details.
Others are worried about how the plan will affect University Hospital in Newark. Rodgers said she believes the hospital will remain intact. “If signed by the governor, then there’s language in the bill about providing financial support to University Hospital above and beyond what it has gotten to date. There’s language in the bill that ensures that University Hospital remain the principle teaching hospital of all of the Newark-based schools of UMDNJ,” she said. “There’s language that also says University Hospital will remain a Level I trauma center.”
Even though UMDNJ will be merging, Rodgers said that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be layoffs. “I think that in many mergers there is a downsizing of the complete asset. We’re actually talking about all of the schools of UMDNJ moving into Rutgers,” she said. “At this point there’s no discussion whatsoever and I’ve not been involved in any discussions that would imply that any of our schools would close.”
Rodgers added that there may be some layoffs on the administrative side, but it’s premature to speculate how many there would be.
According to Rodgers, UMDNJ will benefit from the merger plan, which she hopes happens. “I think the easiest way it benefits is we end 10 years of structural uncertainty for UMDNJ. There have been discussions about breaking up UMDNJ for the last decade. That needed to end. It wasn’t healthy for anybody,” she said. “But it also provides some less fettered — if you will — opportunities to build upon the collaborations that already existed with Rutgers. And I think to further strengthen those collaborations with Rutgers and even more broadly with pharma and other institutions of higher education throughout the state.”