ERIC Number: ED675725
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Sep
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
College Mergers, Consolidations, and Acquisitions
Adalberto Castrejón
State Higher Education Executive Officers
While the topic of college and university mergers has become more relevant in the United States in recent years, there is still very little research and systematic tracking of college merger data (Kurzweil et al., 2021). However, the existing research has shown that many institutions that went through mergers were able to better serve their student communities and promote more efficient operations (Boling et al., 2017; Kurzweil et al., 2021). There have been promising administrative and student outcomes postmerger as well (Kurzweil et al., 2021; Russell, 2019). It is important to keep track of college mergers to measure how a college merger might affect college financial sustainability, and college access and success, either through the elimination or expansion of academic programs, and through changes to the staffing and student support services (Kurzweil et al., 2021). In this report, I used the Federal Student Aid data source and identified 446 cases of university consolidations and 75 cases of absorptions that happened between 2000 and 2025 in the United States. I conducted a descriptive analysis that showed common trends and differences in university consolidations and absorptions across institution type, year, and U.S. location. As financial issues continue to arise, it is important for further research to be conducted on college mergers to better understand the effects of college mergers on institutional and student outcomes, and for institutional leaders and policymakers to be better informed on the process of conducting one.
Descriptors: Organizational Change, Consolidated Schools, College Administration, Public Colleges, Private Colleges, For Profit Colleges, School Effectiveness
State Higher Education Executive Officers. 3035 Center Green Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: 303-541-1600; Fax: 303-541-1639; e-mail: sheeo@sheeo.org; Web site: http://www.sheeo.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO)
Identifiers - Location: United States; Georgia; Florida; Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A


