BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Medaille University students are scrambling to find a new school. The school will close at the end of August. Some Medaille students are on Say Yes Buffalo scholarships.
“That was their home — you know — so they went there — a lot of our students — they lived on the campus as well,” reflected Daphne Ross, chief impact officer, Say Yes Buffalo.
Say Yes, launched in 2011, offers college tuition to public and charter school students who live in Buffalo. Eligible students can apply at more than 90 private colleges.
There are about 100 students at Medaille who are on Say Yes scholarships and right now, Say Yes is helping them figure out where they will continue on with the university set to close.
“We are calling them all individually — one on one — making phone calls and just making sure that they know that there are options that are available to them as they look to transfer,” explained Ross.
Ross tells me Medaille students are feeling a "level of uncertainty” right now. But adds there are other private schools as well as SUNY Buffalo State University and SUNY Erie Community College that also take Say Yes Scholars.
Villa Maria College in Buffalo has “unlimited” spots for Say Yes students to transfer over.
“We are very much like Medaille in a lot of respects. We are a very close-knit community,” Matthew Giordano, president, Villa Maria College.
Like Medaille, Villa is a Buffalo college, a commuter school, and a strong Say Yes partner.
The Villa leader tells me Medaille's closing is a "loss for our community” and its students.
“This isn't something that they have to do within a week. They have time to think this through, explore all of their options and our classes start at the end of August, and they really have until then to figure out what they want to do,” Giordano replied. “Our focus right now is really on those students — to make sure that that loss for them doesn't end up being debilitating for them."
Villa and several other colleges and universities have signed “Teach-Out" agreements with Medialle that will offer a smooth transition for displaced students.
“I think a lot of the local campuses cover all of the same majors that Medaille offers, so that will hopefully ease the transition for some students as well,” noted Ross.
“Psychology, business, communications — a lot of the larger programs at Medaille — we have them here and, again, we can make it a seamless transition,” commented Giordano. “We know they have a number of very tough decisions to make."
Say Yes tells 7 News there are "approximately 85 Say Yes Scholars at Villa and 350 at Buffalo State who were enrolled full-time during this current school year."
