Education Dive: Benefits of College Mergers Don't Always Add Up

A recent article by Jarrett Carter for Education Dive addressed a number of recent college and university mergers. Carter noted that despite the relative success of some of the mergers, individual campus identities have struggled to coalesce and the positive impact upon students may not be quantifiable. Carter focused on several mergers that were driven primarily by economic factors. It should be no surprise that those mergers driven in large part by financial exigency would retain some level of financial problems post-merger. This is why traditional merger advocates suggest not considering mergers exclusively or mainly for financial reasons. Rather, it is advised that both combining institutions come from relative positions of strength, and are not duplicative in nature; the institutions should be mission-complimentary with as little academic overlap as possible.