Villanova University has announced that it will merge with another Philadelphia-area Catholic institution, Rosemont College.
Villanova says that as the merger plans are carried out, Rosemont College, whose campus is in Bryn Mawr, less than a mile from Villanova, will continue operating as a separate entity. Students will have the opportunity to graduate with Rosemont College degrees.
Rosemont students who have not completed their degree by 2028 will have multiple options, which include the ability to transfer to Villanova’s College of Professional Studies where they will have the opportunity to complete a degree.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Rosemont, with an enrollment of 774, has been financially struggling. A merger of the two schools has been talked about for decades, but intensified over the last year as Rosemont was facing mounting debt and looking for a merger partner.
Following the transition, Rosemont will become “Villanova University, Rosemont Campus."
The terms of the merger are subject to approval from The Middle States Commission on Higher Education as well as state and federal regulators.
Rosemont is the second Catholic college in the Philadelphia area that has been absorbed by Villanova. Cabrini University in Radnor, Pennsylvania, closed last year and its campus has been acquired by Villanova.
