Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University, also in Philadelphia, integrated operations July 1.
Here are seven things to know about the official combination.
1. The institutions reached out to approximately 30 accreditation agencies to consummate the combination. The agencies included the Middle States Commission of Higher Education, the U.S. Department of Education and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, among others.
2. The combined institution, named Thomas Jefferson University, will become the fifth largest educational institution in Philadelphia.
3. The integrated entity will maintain both universities' combined nine colleges and three schools, and create the Philadelphia University Honors Institute and the Philadelphia University Design Institute.
4. The university will also maintain various campuses throughout Pennsylvania, an online classroom and teaching component and several clinical sites and study abroad sites around the world.
5. The Thomas Jefferson University academic board will include an equal number of representatives from both universities. The board will oversee the combined organization and offer its recommendations to university officials to drive growth and academic excellence.
6. Stephen Spinelli Jr., PhD, president of Philadelphia University, will serve as chancellor of the merged institution.
7. Stephen Klasko, MD, president and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, said of the integration: "Although the world is changing rapidly, higher education is stuck using old models to teach students how things used to be done. We need to help students lead change, not react to it. We are creating a comprehensive university centered on what's going to be obvious 10 or 20 years from now, but doing it today."