Menlo College in Atherton has offered to take in students who attend Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) in Belmont, which may close because of enrollment and financial issues.
NDNU has “been seriously challenged” by “a steep decline in enrollment resulting in a significant decrease in net tuition revenue, and sharply increased costs,” school officials said in a March 23 press release. Officials have openly considered closing the school since fall 2019, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.
In a Wednesday, April 1, prepared statement from Menlo College, officials said they will offer a "seamless opportunity" for current and prospective NDNU students to transfer to the private four-year college.
“Menlo College extends our sympathy to all of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni at Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) during this time of transition,” according to the statement. “We sympathize with the challenges that the NDNU community is facing at this time.”
On March 23, NDNU announced it would suspend admissions for summer and fall 2020, focusing its “limited resources on helping as many current students as possible to finish degrees at NDNU by spring 2021.”
For NDNU transfer students, Menlo College will accept all credits earned at NDNU. It will also guarantee admissions and on-campus housing for all current NDNU students in good academic standing. It plans to match all NDNU financial aid packages, and California residents may also be eligible to obtain funding to cover 100% of Menlo College’s tuition fees.
While NDNU's enrollment is dwindling, Menlo College experienced "record-breaking enrollment" in fall 2019, with a 35% increase in new students. The college currently enrolls 894 students, Menlo College President Steven Weiner told The Almanac in an email. As a smaller school, officials offer only two major tracks, with business degree concentrations such as finance, sports management and entrepreneurship, Weiner said last summer.
“Menlo College looks forward to continuing strong this coming August, and encourages students at Notre Dame de Namur to consider how Menlo can support them through this unprecedented time,” the school said in its statement.
Five other California colleges have agreed to accept NDNU students, according to NDNU: Dominican University of California in San Rafael; Holy Names University in Oakland; Humphreys University in Stockton and Modesto; Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles; and Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga.
For more information on the transfer process to Menlo College from NDNU, go here.
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Comments
Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Apr 7, 2020 at 1:14 pm
on Apr 7, 2020 at 1:14 pm
I have been an adjunct English and writing professor at Menlo College for the past five years and have seen our college grow and improve with each passing year. We have many international students and many students who are the first in their families to attend college. Many of our faculty are fluent in several languages and the small size of our university ensures that students get the time and attention that they need. This can be especially important for transfer students.
When the shelter in place rules are ended, I suggest that prospective local students come by the campus and take a look at our newly upgraded facilities. In the meantime, if any local students or parents wish to contact me (I've lived in this neighborhood for twenty years)--I will share my Menlo experience.
lauren.john@menlo.edu