Mergers and acquisitions in higher education: a case study of the Rutgers-UMDNJ integration

Colleges and universities have faced tough decision-making, particularly when it comes to allocating resources to balance effectiveness and efficiency. Many institutions of higher education in the United States and abroad have begun to look for alternative policy solutions to increase both effectiveness and efficiency in an effort to save resources and increase their competitive advantage through mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Enhanced effectiveness can create more robust and competitive programs that will improve educational outcomes, and increased efficiency can condense duplicative programs and services, refine resource allocation, and reduce overall costs. My review of higher education mergers indicates that a comprehensive evaluation of any merger or acquisition in United States’ higher education has not been conducted in recent years. A major feature of this research is conducting an outcomes assessment which doesn’t appear to have been done with other higher education M&As. The Rutgers-UMDNJ integration has many outcomes that require evaluation to better guide policymakers, colleges, and universities about their decisions and practices regarding higher education mergers and acquisitions. The primary purpose of this study was to provide a framework for how to evaluate a higher education M&A, with a special emphasis on examining outcome trajectories. Although it may be too soon to evaluate the long-term benefits or the costs of the Rutgers-UMDNJ integration, an interim evaluation of the intended goals can help determine whether the integration has facilitated any noticeable changes three years after its implementation. Moreover, the implications for future program implementation of mergers and acquisitions in institutions of higher education can be guided and assessed through this research. The reasons, design, implementation, effectiveness, and efficiency of the Rutgers-UMDNJ integration were evaluated. The implementation assessment revealed that the integration was implemented with fidelity to the design. The effectiveness and efficiency assessments both revealed that small and sluggish progress had been made, notably the SAT scores at the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) and Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy (Pharm) had increased post-integration. But, many of the outcomes have yet to be fully realized three years post-integration. Limitations in this study include expanding the number and types of individuals interviewed, the inability to evaluate graduate student admissions and human resources data, and the lack of a collaborative research database pre-integration. Future evaluation of this case in another 5-7 years, which would be approximately 10 years post-integration, is suggested.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Victoria Elyse Porterfield-Gregori