Little Rock, AR – The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board today granted 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/Healthcare 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 (COCA) 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 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 NYITCOM @ AState.edu.

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.

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has more than 12,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, nearly 100,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

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