Transition Process

Mills College and Northeastern University have created a process for identifying and implementing the many details involved in merging two higher education institutions. A comprehensive, collaborative set of workstreams serve as the foundation for the transition, leading up to our anticipated merger in July 2022.

Workstreams

We have created 10 individual workstreams that are designed to address key operational areas of the College. Each workstream is led and staffed by members of the Mills and the Northeastern communities across multiple departments and disciplines. In addition to the workstreams, there are special strategy integration teams that will focus on high-level areas of opportunity for Mills at Northeastern. Project managers will act as facilitators for each team to help with scheduling, notetaking, and deadline management. In addition, the project managers will oversee the Microsoft Teams channels that have been set up for each workstream. The information below is being shared with the public but details of the teams and the work will be available to employees only via the Mills intranet.

TEACHING & LEARNING

Scope: Degree paths, academic program planning and development, advising, and faculty.

STUDENT LIFE

Scope: Student experience, campus culture, residential life, experiential learning, student services, and career resources.

PEOPLE

Scope: Infrastructure, compensation and benefits, and professional growth opportunities.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Scope: Diversity, equity, and inclusion planning and building an antiracist culture/programming.

REGULATORY & ACCREDITATION

Scope: Regulatory authorizations, accreditation, and compliance.

ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Scope: Recruitment planning, student financial services, and registration process.

CAMPUS PLANNING

Scope: Master plan development, space assessment for campus operations including residence halls and classrooms.

ADMINISTRATIVE

Scope: Policies, contract management, financial oversight, legal and business compliance, institutional advancement.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Scope: Information technology infrastructure and resource planning, including academic technologies.

MARKETING

Scope: Marketing positioning, branding, identity, advertising, student recruitment, and website communications.

Strategy Integration Teams

In addition to the workstreams, small teams are focusing on high-level strategies for how the merger will impact the following three areas of opportunity:

• Research
• Advancement
• B2B

Communications & Meetings

As the workstreams move forward, we will communicate on a regular basis with the campus community to share progress, schedules and milestones; to summarize action items; and to highlight the work. The virtual Mills Commons meetings held this academic year will be focused on the transition process. A different workstream will be highlighted at each meeting, with members of those teams featuring their work and addressing questions.

These meetings will be open to Mills faculty and staff. Register to receive your Zoom meeting link on the Mills intranet.

• Tuesday, October 12, 12:00–1:00 pm
• Wednesday, November 10, 3:00–4:00 pm
• Thursday, January 27, 11:00 am–12:00 pm
• Tuesday, February 15, 3:30–4:30 pm
• Thursday, March 17, 4:00–5:00 pm
• Tuesday, April 12, 3:30–4:30 pm
• Wednesday, May 4, 1:00–2:00 pm

Questions?

For more information on the transition process, please contact transition-team@mills.edu.