The official plan for merging Rutgers-Camden into Rowan University was issued Thursday.

The combined school, which will also be affiliated with Cooper University Hospital and Coriell Institute for Medical Research, will be designated a research university and headquartered in Glassboro. The transition will take 14 months.

The new Rowan University will have a common curriculum in place for the 2013-14 school year. Students enrolled at Rutgers-Camden prior to that can get a Rutgers diploma; students enrolling after that will get a Rowan diploma, regardless of which campus they attend. The common curriculum currently used at Rutgers-Camden will be phased out.

Some services for Rutgers Camden, such as IT, the library and payroll, are currently handled through the New Brunswick campus. These will be moved to Rowan and appropriate funding to support them will be provided. The blending of student services, such as advising and financial aid, will also occur during the transition.

A committee will work separately on issues involving the student body, including athletic programs.

One of the main reasons for the merger is to improve the combined schools’ ability to attract research funding. The two campuses currently have about $26 million in grants; the plan projects doubling that to at least $50 million by 2020. Endowments and grant funding that have already been given to either campus will stay with that campus.

Merger fallout

All of Rutgers-Camden’s property, assets and state funding will be transferred to Rowan.

Rowan’s board of trustees will expand from 15 members to 25 to include Rutgers representation.

The current combined enrollment is 20,000. The plan projects growing the student body to a total of 25,000 (20,00 undergrad and 5,000 grad and professional) by the year 2020.

The plan calls for the combined university to take an increasingly active role in the revitalization of both Camden and Glassboro.