COVID-19 putting Strain on College Finances
Pine Manor College has recently announced that it will enter into an ‘educational partnership’ with Boston College as the pandemic related closures have stretched its finances to a breaking point. A Memorandum of Understanding between the schools paves the way for Boston College to take on all the Pine Manor’s assets as well as liabilities. The assets include Pine Manor’s leafy, 45 acre campus in Chestnut Hill.
Boston College will also cover Pine Manor’s operating expenses as they “teach out” current students for up to two years. This is the first such consolidation announced since the pandemic which has put considerable strain on college finances across Massachusetts and across the world. Two institutions will work together to establish the Pine Manor Institute for Students Success which will support outreach and academic support to Boston College’s first generation and low-income students.
Comprehensive Assistance for Undeserved Students
President of Pine Manor Tom O’Reilly described the agreement as a golden opportunity in this incredibly difficult time. He further stated that the agreement indefinitely extends Pine Manor’s ‘Student Success’ model by pairing underserved students with comprehensive support and assistance. Pine Manor’s current students will be able to continue learning from the existing faculty during the two-year teach-out period. They will be given the option to apply to learn at Boston College’s evening school, the Wood’s College of Advancing Studies.
However, whether the current Pine Manor faculty and staff, including O’Reilly himself could find work at Boston College after those years have elapsed is yet to be declared. According to the agreement, staff who do not play a part in the continued functioning of Pine Manor College during the teach-out will be eligible for severance and given help in finding other positions. Pine manor’s campus is only a mile and half away from BC’s Chestnut Hill Hub. These two colleges also share a historic commitment to educating undeserved communities of students.
