Dive Brief:
- A handful of higher ed mergers have been announced this year while other institutions consider their own deals as a way to keep struggling programs alive.
- Shy of mergers, which often cause strain within institutions, strategic partnerships allow colleges and universities to share operational costs and take advantage of economies of scale.
- For mergers or acquisitions to be financially attractive to both parties, the weaker institution must pursue these options before it becomes too troubled to bring value to the deal.
Dive Insight:
Union Graduate College in Schenectady, NY, announced this year that it will merge its small but stable program with the larger Clarkson University in Potsdam as a way to strengthen both programs and consider expansion. Inside Higher Ed reports that in Massachusetts, Salem State University is poised to merge with Montserrat College of Art, which is smaller and struggling financially but has little debt, in adddition to attractive land holdings and academic offerings that will round out Salem State’s course catalog.
Mergers and acquisitions are a way to keep struggling schools alive, continuing their educational missions under the banner of another institution. The strategy is not too different from a historically same-sex college welcoming the opposite gender. It amounts to a major institutional change, but it keeps the program alive.