Mergers, Myths & Acquisitions: A destiny of desire or fear?

What some higher education institutions fear could be welcomed as an evolution of partnership.

Institutional sustainability can seem riven with precarity, with impact from the upcoming international student levy negating tuition fee rises; many will be fearing the upcoming budget and seeking to anticipate new risks around the corner. With the recent White Paper calling on us to collaborate further, there is a general sense that talk of mergers and acquisitions within HE governance are a harbinger of failure or looming institutional administration.

However, there are different models of M&A for Higher Education; they needn’t be dramatic or reactive. Federations, for example, enable institutions to retain distinctive value propositions whilst also embarking on shared missions and collective optimisation. Retaining these whilst bringing two distinctive brand positions together to the market makes for an enviable combination. Protecting one’s reputation (or brand equity) without buying into the collective mission will send out the wrong signals. This storytelling must be handled with grace, long-term vision and without fear. Tactful mythbusting will protect against the wasted time and energy of unnecessary ‘truth seeking’ and reassure students, applicants and staff.

Academic partnership and related external service providers are a key part of university mission and strategy, helping to strengthen routes to market and mitigate internal service limitations. Could these not be reviewed as potential M&A alignments? Practised and rehearsed value sharing also provides an opportunity to share more decision making together. Where optimised services (driven by student and graduate needs) bring a distinct market offer (either at a local, national or international level), any duplication of services naturally leads to unwanted internal competition, and threatens an erasure of collegiate autonomy. Cumulative benefits need to be understood and effectively communicated before any public announcement. Collective working is a great way to build this trust and belief early, without risk.

It’s timely to revisit the Radical Collaboration (UUK & KPMG) playbook. Institutions that want to achieve their destiny must consider their successful partners’ governance processes early, develop a shared understanding of decision making and mitigate unexpected changes together to become greater than the sum of their parts. Use partnerships and service-level agreements to position your phase zero, to conserve stamina collectively and avoid duplication of resources around priority mission-led projects.

If done well, this strategy has the potential to address immediate and forthcoming student needs, international strategy and local sector skills gaps. Map your journey early. Seek out partnership affinities. Build a defined and controlled project destination.

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