Faculty and staff from Boston University and Wheelock College have been working together in recent months to prepare for the formation of the new Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, putting together a system to help integrate Wheelock students into the BU community.
BU President Robert Brown wrote in an email that there will be approximately 650 students transferring from Wheelock as a result of the merger and that information on the academic curriculum of the merged college will be announced soon.
“After a great deal of work, we are close to proposing the academic pathways for current Wheelock College students to transfer into Boston University programs or for the creation of new degree programs at Boston University,” Brown wrote. “This information will be announced in the coming weeks.”
There will be a transition day program for Wheelock students and families on Jan. 27, according to BU’s Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.
“We can answer questions for them and by then, they should have given us enough information that we can start to choose who will be advising them about what could be their paths while they are here and a little more specific information,” Elmore said. “And for the students that do join us, we will of course have them participate in one of our transfer student orientation sessions.”
Elmore said that even though the schools will be merging, current Wheelock students are not obligated to become BU students. The majority of them will, but others may opt for other paths.
Cynthia Forrest, interim vice president for student life at Wheelock College, said the transition program will help current Wheelock students understand how to access information and resources at BU. Students will receive BU IDs and will be able to select their housing prior to the merger, which goes into effect June 1.
Forrest said the transition process has been a successful collaborative effort between Wheelock and BU staff.
“People from President Brown on down, everyone has really been interested in how people are doing and working together to provide as much information that we have as we move forward,” Forrest said. “I think the spirit is really excellent, the cooperation, looking for opportunities to collaborate, those have been the hallmarks of everybody’s conversations.”
Wheelock President David Chard said the transition process is currently focusing on program mapping for the new college.
“The first order of business has really been to try and identify pre-program mapping, so that the students of Wheelock know what their options are when they become BU students after the merger,” Chard said. “That involves a lot of people and a lot of details of checking and making sure the alignment between courses is accurate, like the same student learning outcomes are being achieved, that type of thing.”
Chard explained that the biggest challenge in the merger process has been communication.
“When there’s a lack of information, people begin to make up stories about what they think is happening … and suddenly those become people’s reality,” Chard said. “So we spent a lot of time trying to manage communication around what is real versus what is just assumptions.”
Mary McCormack, the dean of student success at Wheelock, said the transition process with BU has been supportive and successful.
“I have found the different people in the offices department at BU to be incredibly open, thoughtful, sensitive and wanting to really be supportive of Wheelock students in particular, but also faculty and staff,” McCormack said. “We’re really having very rich and great professional conversations with each other.”
Several students from Wheelock College and BU’s School of Education shared their thoughts and concerns on the merger.
Nina Marcelo, a SED graduate student, said she is most concerned about how the merger will affect the curriculum for both current SED and incoming Wheelock students.
“I don’t know how the courses are going to change and what that would mean for their required or prerequisite courses, whether they have to take more classes,” Marcelo said. “And at the same time, what’s going to happen to the Wheelock students coming in here, and how’s that going to affect their education, like how long will it take them to graduate?”
Brianna Worden, a junior studying human development at Wheelock, explained that she thinks the merger is a great opportunity for Wheelock students, even though some students might feel overwhelmed by the transition.
“Many of my peers feel the merger will bring new opportunities for Wheelock students, but they do feel overwhelmed,” Worden wrote in a Facebook message. “Most students attend Wheelock due to the small community, but I believe that this is a great opportunity for both schools. BU is a fantastic university, their education is better acclaimed. Wheelock gets to continue its legacy of education and human development.”
Clay McDermott, a freshman in SED said he thinks the merger will be beneficial for BU, but expressed concern that Wheelock students might not be happy at BU.
“My main concern is with the Wheelock students,” McDermott said. “They are definitely getting the short end of this. They did not want to attend a school like BU, and now many of them have to. I hope we can make them feel welcome enough.”
Sierra White, a sophomore at Wheelock, explained that although many Wheelock students are excited about the possibilities that come with attending BU, she doesn’t think Wheelock students have received enough information about the transition.
“I feel as if Wheelock students do not have enough information about the specifics of the merger and it is unsettling because there are a lot of unknowns,” White wrote in a text message. “Regarding the BU administration I would like to compliment them for keeping Wheelock students’ tuition rate the same as well as honoring our degree pathways.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of the article incorrectly stated former Wheelock students would get their BU IDs and housing assignments on June 1. Students will actually receive these prior to that date. The updated version reflects this change.
