ACAO February 2024 Town Hall February 20th at 12:00pm ET Click Here for Recording
Higher Education as an Industry: Mergers, Acquisitions, and Consolidations
The landscape of higher education is undergoing structural change as institutions increasingly explore mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations as responses, sometimes strategic, to the evolving challenges and opportunities within the sector. This town hall, couched in some case studies, will provide an overview of some key dynamics surrounding these organizational shifts in higher education.
1. **Motivations and Drivers: **
- Explore some of the motivations that drive higher education institutions to engage in mergers, acquisitions, or consolidations. Multiple and often connected factors include financial pressures, demographic shifts, changes in educational technology, and a desire to enhance institutional competitiveness.
2. **Strategic Goals and Outcomes: **
- Examine the strategic goals that institutions aim to achieve through such structural changes. This section will delve into how mergers can enhance academic programs, research capabilities, and overall institutional sustainability.
3. **Challenges and Risks: **
- Identify the challenges and risks associated with higher education mergers. This includes potential resistance from stakeholders, cultural clashes between merging entities, the impact on faculty, staff, and students, and financial modeling assumptions.
4. **Governance and Leadership Dynamics: **
- Investigate the governance structures and leadership dynamics that emerge during the process of mergers, acquisitions, or consolidations. Highlight the importance of effective leadership in navigating the complexities of institutional integration.
5. **Impact on Academic Programs, Community Engaged Work and Research: **
- Explore the effects of these changes on academic programs, community initiatives and research efforts.
6. **Financial Implications: **
- Examine the financial implications of higher education mergers, including considerations of cost savings, revenue generation, and the allocation of resources.
7. **Policy and Regulatory Framework: **
- Explore the policy and regulatory framework that governs higher education mergers. Discuss the role of accrediting bodies, government agencies, and other stakeholders in shaping the landscape of institutional restructuring.
This town hall offers a view into the multifaceted dynamics surrounding higher education mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations. As one accreditation leader said – when you have seen one, you have seen only one.
Date: February 20, 2024 / 12:00 - 1:00pm ET
Panelists: Patty Salkin Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Touro University and Professor of Law Jacob D. Fuchsberg Touro Law Center ACAO board member
