Plans for a California college to expand to western Massachusetts are on hold until next year.
Thomas Aquinas College had planned to open its New England campus in Northfield, on the former grounds of the Northfield Mount Hermon School, starting this fall.
But college spokesperson Anne Forsyth says it's still working on its application with the state, and now it plans to open in August, 2019.
"To be honest," Forsyth said, "we probably under-estimated the amount to time that this approval process takes and were overly optimistic in our planning. But it's become clear that in order for us to do everything that it would take to open in the fall, it's just not going to be possible."
Thomas Aquinas took ownership of the campus last May.
Forsyth said it plans to enroll 36 students in its first class and gradually build to about 370 students, the same number as its California campus.
