While the students at the College of Saint Rose in Albany scramble to find new schools before the end of the academic year, nearby Russell Sage College is lending a hand.
With the private college confirming it will close after the 2024 spring semester, discussion about teach-out plans has ramped up.
An institution must provide teach-out plans to its accrediting body on how it will assist students as it plans to close. They often include agreements with other institutions to ensure as smooth of a transition as possible.
Though not required for a student to transfer, the agreements may help students receive more credit transferability and financial aid than a typical transfer student would.
While no formal agreement is in place, Russell Sage is hosting information sessions for students to learn about their options. Katie Cooney Lesko, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Russell Sage, says she is heartbroken for the community.
“Colleges have transfer students all the time,” Cooney Lesko said. “But we felt that it was important before break to be able to get the right information to the students about how transfer processes work, helping support Saint Rose, clarifying what a teach-out agreement would look like helping students, reassuring students to be able to stay at Saint Rose for the spring semester, if that's what they want to do for their choice.”
Cooney Lesko says after reviewing policies, the private college with Albany and Troy campuses will match financial aid offered at Saint Rose and has other scholarships available.
“We’re less expensive than Saint Rose and an affordable option for students,” Cooney Lesko said. “We have strong merit scholarships for the undergraduate experience. The Graduate School, we actually have a low cost as well. And so, making sure students understand that transferring also can come with a strong merit scholarship and we will make it affordable, we will help students trying to make it affordable for the families really does matter.”
Meanwhile, Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat representing the 20 District, says federal support for Saint Rose is not off the table. He spoke on WAMC’s Congressional Corner.
“They were an essential economic multiplier and a resource for higher education,” Tonko said. “So, we will continue to work with their team to see if there’s any possible way that we can provide from a federal perspective any assistance that would enable them to go forward with some sort of format.”
The closure not only affects students. Businesses in the area have expressed worry about more than 80 Saint Rose buildings downtown clearing out. Cooney Lesko says with the large pool of colleges and universities in the region, many students may choose to stay in Albany.
“If we at Russell Sage don't have the major than the University of Albany could, Siena could, RPI, you might be able to, Albany College of Pharmacy,” Cooney Lesko said. “So, there's so many institutions that are in our area, I think that the students, given the information and the time to look, they will be able to find a transition and then be able to stay in that Albany community.”
Speaking with WAMC following the announcement by Saint Rose College President Marcia White, students said they doubted there would be a sincere effort to help them transition. Bella Nicotina, a sophomore studying Early Childhood and Childhood Education, says students were not given a chance to express their concerns.
“All they did was talk about how the college did what they could,” Nicotina said. “But they didn't talk about what happens to us. Yeah, who have to find another college like, who aren't graduating. Like everybody's like, ‘Oh, thank God, I'm graduating next semester.’ What about me? I have to find a school for two other years.”
Cooney Lesko says while the college is giving Saint Rose time to reorganize, she expects a teach-out agreement between the two colleges will come together.
The college plans to hold more information sessions in the coming months.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams announced its own information session for displaced Saint Rose students December 19.
Saint Rose says it will continue operating through the first summer session, and spring sports teams will compete as scheduled. It says dorms, dining halls and other campus services will be active through the closure. The final graduation ceremony will be May 11. The college says it is working with a number of institutions to finalize “teach-out agreements” to smooth the transfer process.
