Mergers in corporations are common, but they also occur in institutional settings. It’s not as typical to see a merger between colleges, but there are many reasons they can happen. The main catalyst behind most mergers, regardless of the industry they occur in, is financial. The COVID-19 pandemic set a lot of corporate and university mergers into place.

At the academic level, as a student or faculty member, when your school goes through a merger, it can be a confusing and stressful time. Getting through each day is different as the changes make micro and macro tasks next to impossible to predict. It doesn’t have to be career-changing, though. These four strategies will help you to survive as an academic during a college or university merger.

Why Do Colleges Merge?

While most mergers are, as mentioned, financial, they aren’t the only reason behind the merging of academic institutions. There are actually three main reasons why your college may be undergoing a merger:

1. It’s a strategic move. When two schools decide that their goals are in line enough to warrant a partnership, they can merge and tackle those aims together. This way, they may be able to obtain more grants, get higher ratings, and reduce overhead while increasing profits.
2. It’s due to finances. When an academic institution finds itself in dire financial straits, a merger with another school can give them the quick influx of cash they need to stay afloat. Instead of filing bankruptcy, merging with another institution helps the school being acquired to retain some of its individual characteristics and independence while still reducing expenses.
3. It’s a political reason due to policies. Private institutions don’t usually have this issue, but in public institutions, policies drive the day right behind money. If a politician decides it’s in the best interest of a school to merge with another institution, even if this decision is not accurate, the school will have to follow through with the merger.

These three reasons are almost always at the heart of every academic merger.

The Pros and Cons of a Merger

When it’s done right, the fact is that a struggling school benefits financially from a merger. The overhead is quickly reduced, a cash infusion helps keep the school functioning, and it avoids bankruptcy. But there are a lot of cons that can occur during a merger, too.

Small colleges typically hold values and principles that larger institutions don’t have. The bigger schools are economically and policy-driven rather than student-driven. These principles usually override the smaller school’s ideals in a merger.

When a smaller school’s goal is to stay independent, they keep their identity and character but are responsible for all the financial aspects of running a college. Becoming dependent financially on another institution means taking the chance that those characteristics and that identity will be encroached upon or disappear altogether.

How to Survive an Academic Merge

When a college is undergoing a merger, it can feel like a personal attack on you. The first thing you have to remember is that it isn’t. The merger was a result of one of the three previously mentioned issues. You’re just caught in the crossfire, and you need a strategy to survive until the dust settles. These four strategies can help you make it through to the other side:

1. Remind yourself of the value brought to the table. When you focus on the positives that the merger is bringing, it’s easier to get through it. If you pay attention to the negatives, and there are always cons to any merger, you still have to go through the daily motions, but you will have a harder time doing so because of the negative train of thought.
2. It’s not about you. Put your ego where it belongs - back in check. The merger and the changes that result from it aren’t about you, and you’re not the only one impacted. Set a strategy to remind yourself that any micro-managing, detail changes, and other drawbacks aren’t aimed at you. To think otherwise is rather egoistic.
3. Adapt your vision accordingly. You have career goals that were in line with the original college’s mission or you wouldn’t have taken a job there. If this merger brings a new mission, you may have to adjust your vision for your career and the school to match it. However, if it’s too far out of line of your goals, it may be time to look for a change in employment.
4. Keep an open, but cautious, mind. This merger could be full of positive outcomes you don’t know anything about. It could, on the other hand, be dangerous to your job and your goals. Keep an open mind but proceed cautiously.

At the end of the day, a merger between your school and other institution is going to happen regardless of your desires. These strategies can help you make it through the changes until you decide if it was a good or a bad thing for you.