Full Description
How proactive mergers can stabilize and enhance colleges and universities—and ensure their future.
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 last resort. Strategic Mergers in Higher Education, however, argues that college and university mergers are a legitimate and proactive strategic option to help ensure success, maximize quality and service, and yield the best return for faculty and students.
In this thoughtful book, Ricardo Azziz and his coauthors—including higher education leaders who have led successful consolidations—address the many questions surrounding institutional mergers. When, they ask—and why—should a merger be considered? How can leaders deal effectively with the many challenges and opposition that a merger will inevitably face? What are the predictors of merger failure and success? And how do we successfully address the postmerger cultural divide?
This thorough text demonstrates how mergers can dramatically accelerate the goals of postsecondary institutions. The book is informed by an extensive review of published reports, interviews with over thirty higher education leaders, individual case studies, and the experiences of the authors themselves. Addressing numerous critical questions, this practical guide is aimed at higher education leaders and their boards, the campus leaders charged with executing transformative mergers, and any policy makers interested in change management or the future of higher education.
Contents
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. Why Mergers in Higher Ed?
Chapter 1. Pursuing Sustainability, Breadth, and Excellence through Scale
Chapter 2. Why Mergers Now?
Chapter 3. Mergers as an Organizational Tactic
Chapter 4. History and Global Experience
Chapter 5. Drivers and Categories of Mergers in Higher Education
Chapter 6. Success and Failure: Predictors and Metrics
Part II. Increasing the Odds of Merger Success in Higher Ed
Chapter 7. The Seven Essential Elements for Merger Success
Chapter 8. Evaluating the Stakes When Considering Mergers
Chapter 9. Finding, Evaluating, and Choosing Merger Partners
Chapter 10. Negotiating the Merger
Chapter 11. Communicating in a Merger
Chapter 12. Leadership, Resources, and Managing Opposition
Part III. Effectively Executing Mergers in Higher Ed
Chapter 13. Merging Organizational Units in a Context-Sensitive Manner
Chapter 14. Managing Institutional Legal, Corporate, and Regulatory Obligations in a Merger
Chapter 15. Project Management in a Merger
Chapter 16. Creating and Managing the Brand: Who Do You Want to Be?
Chapter 17. Aftermath: As Much a Beginning as an End
Part IV. Looking to the Future
Chapter 18. The Role of Mergers in Institutional Strategy
Appendix A. Mergers Occurring from 2000 to 2016 and Included in Analysis
Appendix B. Example Functional Areas for Integration Using Project Management during a Merger
Appendix C. Example Standardized Forms Used for Project Management during a Merger
Index
