Arkansas Higher Education Board Approves NYIT Osteopathic Medical School Plan at A-State
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board today granted the New York Institute of Technology certification for an additional osteopathic medical school site on the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Certification for three degrees — the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, the Master of Science in Medical/Health Care Simulation and the Master of Science in Neuromusculoskeletal Sciences — is contingent on NYIT obtaining regional and national accreditation. NYIT and A-State officials will appear before the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation and present its application on Sept. 6 in Chicago.
“We appreciate the great cooperation of all of the parties involved in getting us to this point today,” said Shane Broadway, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. “It has required a great deal of time and effort by our staff and that of Arkansas State, NYIT and the State Medical Board. We look forward to seeing great things with this partnership for our state.”
Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, vice president for health sciences and medical affairs at NYIT, said this is another significant milestone for the school.
“We’re grateful to the Higher Education Coordinating Board for its consideration and approval,” Ross-Lee said. “We look forward to our presentation to the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation in September. The purpose is to educate physicians in Arkansas and for Arkansas.”
NYIT’s College of Osteopathic Medicine operates the largest single-site medical school in the country and is proposing establishment of an additional site at A-State, with the first students enrolling in August 2016 and a target class size of 115 students.
“Collaborating with a nationally respected, well established osteopathic medical school and dozens of partners in the mid-South medical community will enable us to address the shortage of primary care physicians in the underserved Delta,” said Dr. Tim Hudson, chancellor of Arkansas State. “We’re also proud that we can minimize the startup investment while maximizing the transformative impact on our university, community and state. We want to thank the Higher Education Coordinating Board and Director Broadway and his staff, and we look forward to the next important step with the COCA board.”
The medical school has a projected startup cost of $10 million. A-State will invest $4 million to renovate and furnish Wilson Hall, and NYIT will invest $6 million for startup operating funds and faculty in the first three years.
More information about the medical school plans, as well as previous news releases and a feasibility study by Tripp-Umbach, can be found at AState.edu/medicine.
Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board certification does not constitute an endorsement of any institution or program. Such certification merely indicates that certain criteria have been met as required under the rules and regulations implementing institutional and program certification as defined by Arkansas Code 6-61-301.
