Merger FAQs 2022

Mills College will join Northeastern University as the flagship West Coast campus in its global network to form a new bicoastal university. Northeastern will offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs on the Mills campus, as well as lifelong learning opportunities. The Mills campus will be preserved and improved, and the mission will be expanded to bring Mills' emphasis on gender equity and a broad-based liberal arts education into Northeastern's emphasis on global, experiential, lifelong education.

Yes. After years of running structural deficits and being unable to invest in its people and campus, Mills College can now support its community with the resources it deserves. Many small colleges, including Mills, found that the pandemic exacerbated their financial vulnerability. Anticipating the fast-approaching enrollment "cliff" of 2025 (when the number of high school graduates is projected to drop significantly), Mills leadership realized that they had to seek a new way to sustain the College’s mission.

Building on the legacy of Mills College, the Mills Institute will strive to meet changing educational needs in higher education, with a particular commitment to gender and racial justice and the advancement of women, gender nonbinary individuals, and communities of color. It will advance gender and racial justice through programs and partnerships that support transformative teaching and learning, research, and career development. Learn more about the Mills Institute.

The Mills Institute will be located on the Mills campus and will serve the Northeastern global network. It is contemplated that the programming will connect to university curriculum and academic programs offered on the Mills campus.

Mills and Northeastern have launched a global search for the inaugural Executive Director of the Mills Institute. The search for the inaugural Executive Director will be led by a search committee chaired by Katie Sanborn ‘83, chair of the Board of Trustees of Mills College, and composed of Mills representatives (four trustees, two faculty members, and interim provost) and Northeastern representatives (two faculty members and a dean), and joined by Storbeck Search, a nationally recognized executive leadership search firm. The Executive Director will serve as the executive head of the Mills Institute, reporting to the President of Mills College at Northeastern University. The Mills Institute will be a cornerstone to sustaining the legacy of Mills College, with a mission of advancing gender and racial justice. The search committee will seek to fill this key position by summer 2022.

The Mills and Northeastern communities are already engaged in extensive transition planning and implementation for the merger. Ten organization-wide teams have been collaborating since the merger announcement to identify operational integration opportunities and solutions.

Mills College at Northeastern University will remain a vibrant contributor to the City of Oakland and the greater Bay Area. Mills and Northeastern are already connecting with the city, local nonprofit organizations, and educational pathway programs to begin planning for the future. Northeastern will support local, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses and launch experiential learning programs that incorporate social entrepreneurship and service learning to address local and global challenges. This work will build on Northeastern’s proven track record of collaborative urban engagement in Boston.

Northeastern will retain the Mills College name and preserve and cultivate the Mills campus for educational purposes for generations to come. Named buildings and hallmark resources such as the F. W. Olin Library, the Mills College Art Museum, and fine arts facilities will continue to be at the core of a Mills College at Northeastern University education.

Undergraduate Students:
Visit the Application Status Check no later than Sunday, May 1, 2022, to finalize your intent to enroll at Northeastern and your intended campus location. This will confirm your enrollment at Northeastern University. If you are uncertain about your intent to enroll by May 1, we recommend you choose to confirm your intent to enroll on the Application Status Check. This will ensure that you receive further communications from Northeastern, and you can always decide to opt out later.

Graduate Students:
Northeastern has coded students directly to enrolled status. Your only next step will be to register for courses.

Northeastern advisors are now meeting with, and scheduling meetings with, continuing Mills students who have already submitted their intent to enroll form. We strongly encourage all continuing students to meet with their Northeastern advisors to address questions about course mapping, substitutions, and other specific matters related to their Northeastern program and major.

Complete and accurate degree maps are being built now through conversations with students, Northeastern advisors, and Mills faculty. All students who submitted intent to enroll forms should have received introductions from their assigned academic counselors; other students can still submit those forms. We anticipate degree maps will be completed prior to the end of the spring 2022 semester for all students who participate in the process.

No. Only the nursing partnership program, which already requires relocation to Boston, requires Mills students to move to Boston. Students are, however, encouraged to consider studying in Boston if they are interested in doing so.

As part of our commitment to supporting the Mills community of learners and scholars, students can expect financial aid packages to reflect no increase in out-of-pocket costs for tuition and fees, including room and board.

Beginning the week of April 4, Mills students will be sent personalized statements from Northeastern’s Office of Student Financial Services. The statements will provide an estimated total cost for tuition and fees for fall 2022. The estimates will be based on expected family contribution (EFC), charges, housing status, and financial aid award received for the spring 2022 semester at Mills College. The estimates will include a link to schedule an appointment with the financial aid counselors to discuss the award and any questions students may have.

Northeastern will prioritize financial aid awards based on need level (highest need sooner). Northeastern financial aid counselors will be on the Mills campus April 26-28 to meet with students individually to review award details and answer any questions students may have. At the end of April, on a rolling basis, Mills students who have updated their FAFSAs to add the Northeastern University code (002199) will begin to receive award letters confirming their aid packages for 2022-23. All continuing students need to update their FAFSAs as soon as possible to identify Northeastern.

In order to finalize your financial aid award package, please file a 2022-23 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or renewal FAFSA. In doing so, please update your school code to 002199 indicating Northeastern University as the awarding institution. This will allow Northeastern to move forward with confirming and finalizing your award package. If you need help completing and submitting a new or renewal FAFSA, please contact Cora Manuel in Student Financial Services at cmanuel@mills.edu.

On April 26, 27, and 28, Northeastern financial aid counselors will be on the Mills campus to meet with students individually to review award details and answer any questions students may have. We are committed to supporting your success throughout this important decision-making and transition process. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email provost@mills.edu.

We recognize the impact the Mills College and Northeastern University merger process continues to have on many of our students and their families and understand the urgency in releasing timely and accurate information regarding your degree path. We acknowledge that our undocumented students, in particular, deal with complex, sometimes overlapping issues that impede their ability to succeed academically. Mills College is working closely with Northeastern University campus partners to ensure a smooth transition for undocumented students. For detailed information and links to available resources, visit our Undocumented Student Support web page.

Mills and Northeastern are committed to supporting undocumented students through the merger. Continuing Mills students, including undocumented students, will not have additional out-of-pocket expenses and will continue to have access to Mills financial aid counselors (by appointment), support from care managers (support@mills.edu), and support and sessions via Mills' Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) (email counseling@mills.edu or call 510.430.2111).

Further, Mills' Student Access and Support Services (SASS) is working closely with Northeastern University's Disability Resource Center (DRC) to ensure a smooth transition for SASS students staying through the merger. A Mills SASS coordinator is now reaching out to all students on reduced course load with more information.

Like many institutions of higher education, Mills College and Northeastern University have agreed to merge to provide expanded opportunities for students. Mills will benefit from additional resources that will enable the College to continue to excel in serving women, gender nonbinary individuals, first-generation, and BIPOC students, while Northeastern will gain a bicoastal presence that will expand the impact of its global campus network.

Current students are receiving personalized counseling to enable them to select the best options to complete their degrees through Mills College now, through Northeastern soon after (at no increase in anticipated tuition and fees), or through another institution. Mills faculty, Northeastern faculty, and staff from both institutions are building pathways, mapping degree requirements, and ensuring required coursework is available. Most Mills students can pursue the same or a very similar major or degree with Northeastern that they were pursuing at Mills, since Northeastern has a wide range of existing programs. Mills students have access to all the same benefits and opportunities as Northeastern students, and some are already taking courses with Northeastern students.

Both undergraduate and graduate degree programs will be offered by Mills College at Northeastern University, building on Mills’ strength as an undergraduate liberal arts college. Mills and Northeastern faculty will collaborate to determine the programs and the curriculum and seek ways to innovate to serve future students.

Mills’ intensive six-week summer session begins on May 16 and ends on June 24. This year’s summer session provides students who are close to completing graduation requirements with an additional opportunity to obtain a Mills degree before our July 1 transition date, and participate in the May Commencement observances. Priority registration for the summer session begins on April 4 and ends on April 8.

Mills is granting a special full cost of tuition scholarship to students who will complete their Mills degree requirements during the summer session. These students must immediately apply for and become approved for graduation (Undergraduate Application for Graduation (PDF), Graduate Student Petition for Candidacy (PDF)). Only students with approved graduation applications will be eligible for this scholarship. All other students will be granted a 15% tuition cost discount. Please note that there will be no incomplete grades for the summer term. Students must either withdraw from the course or receive the grade earned as of June 24, 2022.

For students who have been approved to graduate at the end of the summer session: If you are currently living on campus, you may continue to do so with no cost for the housing portion of room and board through the completion of the special summer session.

The cost of on-campus housing for students who have not been approved for graduation will be shared soon. Please note that students choosing to stay on campus during the summer session may need to relocate to a different residential space depending on occupancy. Students interested in staying on campus during this time should complete the summer housing form that will be sent out to all students after spring break.

Dining services are typically more limited during the summer months. We will work with Bon Appétit to provide additional dining information prior to students signing up for summer housing.

Mills will continue to offer services across campus on a summer schedule of operation. Additional information about these services and schedules will be available in May.

Yes. We encourage Mills students to meet with their Mills faculty advisors to discuss their degree completion option(s) after they meet with the Northeastern experience counselor and/or the assigned Northeastern professional academic advisor who will carefully map and evaluate their academic credits.

No. There are two phases to this work.

First, the degree completion pathway courses are fulfilling Mills’ commitment and responsibility to assure that every current Mills student in good standing has an individualized pathway for degree completion. The programs and courses that are part of the degree completion pathways are offerings that Northeastern University currently is accredited to teach in California. These are the programs and courses that will enable current Mills students who are graduating after June 30, 2022, to complete their degrees.

Second, in the year ahead, the faculties of both institutions will develop and submit for accreditation new undergraduate and graduate academic programs that build on Mills’ and Northeastern’s strengths and create new educational opportunities for students. We will share information about those programs as they are developed and accredited.

Yes. As long as you are eligible to enroll at Mills, you are eligible to continue to enroll at Mills College at Northeastern University beginning July 1, 2022. You only need to submit the intent to continue enrollment form once. This form gives Northeastern permission to review your educational information and conduct a degree audit that will provide degree completion pathway options specific to your situation. After July 1, 2022, you may be asked to provide other information that is routinely requested of Northeastern students, such as updated contact information.

Current tenured and tenure-track faculty will remain on the faculty after the merger. We also expect that other categories of full-time salaried faculty will continue as faculty after the merger as well. We hope that they will decide to continue as your professors at Mills College at Northeastern University.

Yes. Students will have a predictable time left to finish their Northeastern degree. For undergraduates, no more than 120 credits will be required for degree completion. Students with 30 accepted Mills credits will have 3 years remaining, those with 60 credits will have 2 years left, and those with 90 credits will have 1 year left to complete their degrees.

For graduate students, a calculation will be made depending on completed Mills credits compared to destination Northeastern degree credits.

You will continue to have the same access to art studios, performance spaces, Littlefield Concert Hall, Lisser Hall, the Center for Contemporary Music, the Mills College Art Museum, and the F. W. Olin Library, and the special collections to name a few. Access to any labs or technical facilities will continue, unless unforeseen repairs become necessary.

Yes. Current and future Mills students will be able to access all of Northeastern’s resources to enhance their educational experience.

Yes, housing will continue to be available to you after July 1, 2022, and we encourage you to live on campus. We have combined the Mills housing departments into a single Office of Housing and Residential Life. If you have any housing-related questions, please email housing@mills.edu.

For current Mills students, the school name on your degree after June 30, 2022, will be Mills College at Northeastern University.

Yes, if you are a current Mills student now, you will graduate as a Mills alum. Your degree will be a Mills College at Northeastern University degree. You will also be a Northeastern alum.

Generally, classes will be in person on the Mills College at Northeastern University campus and taught by faculty who are located on this campus. Students will also have the opportunity to enroll in classes offered at other Northeastern campuses via online delivery methods.

Beginning July 1, 2022, courses offered at Mills College at Northeastern University will be Northeastern course offerings listed in the Northeastern course catalog.

We are comparing Mills’ courses with Northeastern courses to identify those that have equivalent content, even though the course names may be different. This is important information that shows which courses Mills students can take to complete their degrees.

Courses for the 2022 fall semester are determined by the degree completion courses students will need. The full fall list will be available once the degree pathway work is completed. All continuing students will be able to meet degree requirements.

We are projecting that approximately 1,000 students will be on campus in the 2022–23 academic year. We estimate that the student body will be approximately 50% Mills continuing students and 50% Northeastern NU Bound and N.U.i.n. students, which are first-year pathway programs that Northeastern runs at sites around the world.

Mills and Northeastern share similar undergraduate majors in many instances and the proposed degree completion pathways may be very close to your current major classes. Other majors are different and the proposed degree completion pathways may not be as closely matched. This preliminary list of Mills majors and the most closely aligned Northeastern majors are our starting point. Mills and Northeastern are continuing to refine and update the list.

No. However, you are encouraged to explore the option of taking courses on Northeastern’s Boston campus if that interests you. The only pathway that requires studying in Boston is the undergraduate Nursing Partnership Program.

In certain instances, there may be differences in requirements. Northeastern is assigning each Mills student a professional academic advisor who will provide personalized further review of the student’s Mills coursework to determine remaining courses needed to complete the Northeastern degree. Students will have flexibility in selecting from among course options in their destination major.

No, it will not be possible to pursue a self-designed major as part of a degree completion pathway.

Yes, in some instances. The immediate focus is to assure pathways to complete your major before addressing minors.

This may be possible depending on how close you are to completing all of the requirements and should be discussed with your academic advisor, who will be assigned after submission of your intent to continue enrollment form.

While it is generally possible to pursue this option, the differences between Mills and Northeastern degree requirements in this case are likely to extend your time to degree completion. This should be discussed with your academic advisor.

Mills is offering a six-week summer session from May 16, 2022 to June 24, 2022 for students who, at the end of this spring term, will need 8 credits or less to complete their Mills degree. These currently enrolled students and students who previously have been granted in-absentia status, now have the ability to receive the Mills College degree if they complete these credits by June 30, 2022. These students should apply for participation in the May 2022 graduation ceremonies.

Transfer admissions deadlines typically extend into the early summer. If you do not find a degree completion pathway that meets your needs, we encourage you to review the special transfer partnership agreements that Mills has negotiated with peer institutions. Our Mills admissions counselors are available to assist you in transferring to one of these partner schools. After you have reviewed the transfer partnership agreements, please schedule a one-on-one appointment with a Mills admissions counselor.

UC Berkeley’s standard transfer requirements apply universally to all incoming students, so you will have to work within those parameters if you are interested in that institution.

For current Mills students who enroll after June 30, 2022, the name of the school on the degree will be Mills College at Northeastern University. Students who are admitted after June 30, 2022 and matriculate into one of Mills College at Northeastern’s programs, will have Northeastern University as well as Mills College on their degree.

Transcripts for current students who continue after June 30, 2022, will say Northeastern University, and all the courses taken at Mills before June 30, 2022, will be noted and appear on the transcripts.

Students should complete and submit the intent to continue enrollment form. immediately because it triggers the degree completion mapping necessary for making the decision to continue at Mills College at Northeastern University or transfer to another institution. It does not require students to make a final decision to stay at Mills or transfer. It gives Northeastern permission to schedule conversations with Mills students to discuss their potential academic pathways should they choose to attend Mills College at Northeastern University.

Going forward, graduate students wishing to continue enrollment after June 30, 2022, should complete and submit the intent to continue enrollment form. Each continuing student is being matched with a Northeastern professional academic advisor in their intended program so that course mapping can be completed. Mills faculty advisors and the professional academic advisors will continue to support students during the transition as they consider their degree completion options.

Mills and Northeastern share some similar graduate degree programs, and the proposed degree completion pathways may be close to your current degree path. Other graduate degrees are very different and the proposed degree completion pathways may not be as closely matched. This preliminary list of Mills graduate degrees and the most closely aligned Northeastern graduate degrees is our starting point. Mills and Northeastern are continuing to refine and update this list for the graduate programs.

To learn about your specific options, please complete the online intent to continue enrollment form and then schedule a one-on-one meeting with a Northeastern experience counselor.

If you do not find a degree completion pathway that meets your needs at Northeastern, our Mills admissions counselors remain available to assist you in exploring available graduate transfer options. We encourage you to schedule a one-on-one appointment with a Mills admissions counselor for assistance.

Yes. In fact, we anticipate an increased need to hire more teaching assistants and student assistants because we are projecting approximately 1,000 students will be studying on campus in fall 2022.

Our Mills admissions counselors are available to assist you in transferring to one of the transfer partnership schools that has indicated graduate transfer opportunities. Please schedule a one-on-one appointment with a Mills admission counselor.

No. Adjunct faculty have not been laid off as a result of the merger. Faculty of all types, including our adjunct faculty, are valued employees of the College. The College appreciates their support of students during and after the upcoming transition to Mills College at Northeastern University, which will bring more opportunities for continued employment than Mills has been able to offer in the past.

The letter informed per-course adjuncts that teaching needs are not finalized and, therefore, no teaching assignments can be made at this time. They will be notified when teaching needs are confirmed and courses are assigned to them. The letter complied with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with SEIU which required notification to per-course adjuncts by April 15 of next year's teaching assignments.

Further communication in the weeks ahead, as the teach-out process identifies course needs, will clarify the situations of individual faculty members represented by SEIU.

Mills College is adhering to the terms of its CBA with SEIU regarding required communications with adjunct faculty concerning contracts for the next academic year, when Mills College will be part of Northeastern University.

Northeastern will honor the terms of tenure of Mills faculty who hold a tenured or tenure-track position or a continuous appointment, and will also offer per-course adjunct faculty opportunities for employment. It is anticipated that enrollment growth on the Mills campus will require additional faculty.

Mills College will abide by all legal requirements that govern collective bargaining relationships, and Northeastern University expects to work collaboratively with any Mills unions. Northeastern’s labor counsel will be assessing all union contractual relationships and will be in contact with the union that represents Mills faculty in advance of the merger.

Any part-time faculty member will be welcome to apply for a full-time or even a tenure-track role.

The 2022–23 holiday calendar (PDF) is now available. Any holidays applicable to unionized employees are subject to collective bargaining.

Following the merger, the President of Mills College will assume the role of President of Mills College at Northeastern University reporting to the President and the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Northeastern University. The President of Mills College at Northeastern University will be the chief executive officer of the College.

All Mills staff as of the date of the completed merger will become Northeastern employees.

Northeastern and Mills will work together in good faith on the various bargaining relationships at Mills.

Mills employees as of the date of the completed merger become Northeastern employees and will have continued benefits coverage.

Mills does not anticipate changes to healthcare benefits for employees during the 2022 calendar year.

Plans, positions, and options will be shared as they develop.

Titles and roles may change after the merger date and may depend upon operational and business needs. Staff continuing with Northeastern after the merger will not see a reduction in base salary or wage rates.

The holiday calendar changes periodically and may be revised to align with Northeastern’s holiday schedule following a completed merger. Employees may notice some differences between Mills’ and Northeastern’s schedules which accommodate local and state-observed holidays.

Mills employees who become Northeastern employees on July 1, 2022, will not lose any value in vacation benefits.

Mills alums will continue to be valued and welcomed as part of the Mills College community, including to the campus and Reinhardt Alumnae House, and will also have access to the benefits that Northeastern offers its graduates such as tuition discounts for additional degrees. The Mills College endowment will continue to be used for the purposes for which the gifts were intended and to support activities on the Mills campus. The College has continued to support the AAMC and is now in conversation with the AAMC about our future relationship. Reunions are already being planned for 2022 and beyond, and the Mills Quarterly will continue to publish.

Mills College at Northeastern University will continue to engage with Mills alumnae.

Mills College and Northeastern University are merging and will work collaboratively to maintain and renovate the Oakland campus. Upon completion of the merger, Northeastern University will own the property and assume responsibility for maintaining and enhancing the campus.

Before establishing a master plan for the campus, we must develop curricular offerings and design ongoing and new programs. Assessments are underway to identify renovation needs and new construction options.

Northeastern will continue the current names of the buildings, structures, and spaces of the Mills campus.

Yes, we anticipate residential renovations and new residential buildings, over time, and will conduct a review of the current buildings to make those decisions. The review will help determine if the buildings need extensive or minor renovation, as well as set out a plan for future growth.

Endowments of Mills College will continue to be used for the purposes for which they were given to the College. They will support activities on the Mills campus. No changes will be made in the uses of any endowed fund without communication with the donor or other legally required steps. The investments of the College’s endowments will be managed by Northeastern University and will be spent in accordance with Northeastern’s spending policies.

Your gift to Mills will continue to support the students, staff, and faculty that you know and have supported at Mills throughout the years. The designation you select when you make your gift will be honored as it always has been. It is our responsibility to ensure that the intent behind your gift is respected and honored and that the purpose you select receives the full benefit of your generosity. For example, should you select Mills' Greatest Need, your gift will directly support operations on the campus that you love and will benefit the students who are studying here. Gifts to the new Mills Legacy Scholarship Fund will support women and gender nonbinary students well into Mills' new future and partnership with Northeastern University.

Your gift will go exactly where you have designated it to be placed. There will continue to be opportunities to support the Mills campus and its programs, students, staff, and faculty. Gifts to Mills' Greatest Need will be essential to the campus, and undergraduate scholarships will always be a top priority. You can select the program or student scholarship that you want to support with your gift and rest assured that your gift will be used for the purpose that you have intended.