Thomas Edison State University will seek university status in 2015.
The Board of Trustees of Thomas Edison State University has approved a resolution authorizing the college to take the steps required to secure state approval for gaining university status.
“So much has changed both in higher education and here at Thomas Edison State University since our school was established more than 40 years ago. Becoming a university is important because it more accurately articulates the type of institution we have become, especially in the minds of prospective students, potential donors and the general public,” said Dr. George A. Pruitt, president of Thomas Edison State University. “It also better reflects the success we have had expanding our graduate programs and our plans to develop new programs in the coming years.”
The board approved the resolution at its regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 12. Pruitt said the college plans to request approval for university status in 2015.
The college was established in 1972 to provide flexible, high-quality collegiate learning opportunities for self-directed adults. The school is a pioneer in prior learning assessment and leveraging technology to develop and deliver courses and academic programs to wherever a student lives or works. In 2004, the college implemented a major restructuring of its academic division and established schools, which now oversee the institution’s academic enterprise.
Today, the college serves more than 21,000 students from all 50 states and internationally who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs in more than 100 areas of study, including 10 master’s degree programs and 12 graduate certificates. The college is home to one of New Jersey’s largest nursing schools and is one of the country’s largest providers of academic programs to the U.S. military and the nuclear industry.
“We have evolved into a large, comprehensive institution with diverse academic offerings that serve a wide range of students and organizations – here in New Jersey, throughout the country and around the world,” said Pruitt. “It is what we have become.”
Vi-Anne Antrum, DNP