This paper evaluates economies of scale and scope, and the merger effect among national universities in Japan. We apply SUR for the total translog cost function in FY2014 and FY2018. The main results are: (i) there exist economies of scale as a whole university; (ii) but there exist no clear economies of scope except for in research; (iii) there…

In December of 2012 administrators for the University of Texas (UT) System announced a proposed merger of University of Texas-Brownsville and the University of Texas-Pan American "with an eye toward securing increased state funds and potentially building a medical school." The status of University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) and…

Consolidation has been practiced in governments, school districts, and business for many years and in higher education since the early 1900s with the primary focus on the efficiency and financial savings found in the process. The nine consolidations in the University System of Georgia (USG) were driven by six principles which sought to achieve…

At the start of the third decade of the 21st century, the United States is entering a period of unprecedented demographic shifts affecting higher education. Not only are many states already seeing fewer high-school graduates, with more facing this trend as the decade progresses, but in all but a few regions overall population growth will level and…

Across American higher education, institutional consolidations are on the rise. In particular, multiple state systems have proposed or completed mergers of regional universities and/or community colleges with the stated goal of increasing efficiency. Despite the high-profile nature of some recent successful and failed consolidations, there is…

Alumni boards have historically been a leading source for alumni to receive tremendous personal and professional satisfaction by giving of themselves to their alma mater and to fellow alumni. These boards have roles and responsibilities including social events, networking, and raising funds for the college or university. Many alumni boards provide…

Higher education institutions across the United States have increasingly faced an uncertain future as student populations shift, financial pressures mount, and skepticism rises regarding the value of higher education (Seltzer, 2018). As a result, university leaders find themselves endeavoring upon a blind venture of adapting the various corporate…

Higher education has been changing for years as improved online technologies, increased competition globally and domestically, and reduced target populations have increased the competitive environment. Higher education institutions have had to consider merger strategies which are typically associated with corporations. A merger strategy requires a…

In 2017 to 2018, the University of Wisconsin (UW) System undertook a major consolidation, removing its two-year college campuses from a standalone sub-system known as the UW Colleges and merging them with nearby four-year UW institutions. The system-level motivation for doing so, in a state undergoing a demographic shift with an aging population,…

With the pool of high school graduates decreasing, national and global competition increasing, and the need to invest in new technologies and approaches growing, many universities and small colleges alike are struggling--not just to thrive, but to survive. In this challenging environment, mergers and consolidations are often viewed as options of…

In "The College Stress Test," Robert Zemsky, Susan Shaman, and Susan Campbell Baldridge present readers with a full, frank, and informed discussion about college and university closures. Drawing on the massive institutional data set available from IPEDS (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), they build a stress test for…

The New England Board of Higher Education "NEBHE" has been deeply interested in how New England higher education institutions can collaborate with one another and with other leaders to confront threats to their economic sustainability. These threats stem partly from shifts in academic content and delivery, student demography and…

Small mid-tier private schools tend to have modest endowments, and after decades of tuition hikes comparable to those of their elite peers, they are now at high risk of pricing themselves out of the market. The fiscal crisis of small private colleges will play out differently across the nation. States vary in their demographic projections and the…

While it is clear that not all mergers and consolidations are a success story, and some collapse under backlash from students, faculty, and other community members, the University System of Georgia (USG) has completed an astounding number of successful mergers between its institutions. This case study provides an overview of the timeline of the…

Little research examines the sociocultural aspects of consolidating two post-secondary educational institutions. In a previous study we collected baseline data and reported on the initial impact of consolidation of a research-oriented, health sciences university with a teaching-oriented, comprehensive university. In the study we report here we…