Collaboration, alliance, and merger among higher education institutions

132 Pages·2017·1.19 MB·English

OECD Education Working Papers No. 160
Collaboration, alliance,
and merger among higher
Jonathan Williams
education institutions
https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/cf14d4b5-en
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
EDU/WKP(2017)9
Unclassified English - Or. English

17 November 2017
DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS

COLLABORATION, ALLIANCE, AND MERGER AMONG HIGHER
EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
OECD Education Working Paper No. 160

Jonathan Williams, Consultant to the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, Policy
Advice and Implementation Division

This Working Paper has been prepared on behalf of the Finland Ministry of Education and Culture, to
support Vision for Higher Education and Research in 2030.
This Working Paper has been authorised by Andreas Schleicher, Director of the Directorate for Education
and Skills, OECD.(cid:13)

Thomas Weko, [email protected]

JT03423172

This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the
delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank for guidance and feedback: Thomas Weko, Patricia
Mangeol and Simon Roy of the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills; Maarit
Palonen and Tomi Halonen of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland; and Harry
de Boer, of the Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies. The author is grateful to
Harry de Boer, Elise Miller and Akiyoshi Yonezawa for country case studies that helped
to inform this work.
This paper was prepared by Jonathan Williams, an external consultant to the OECD
Directorate for Education and Skills.

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Abstract
Declining student numbers; growing fiscal pressures; and intensified international
competition for prestige, research talent and funding, have increasingly made
collaborations, alliances, and mergers among higher education institutions a priority for
institutions themselves, and for the governments that support them. Collaborations,
alliances and mergers among higher education institutions may seek to enhance academic
performance, to achieve economic efficiencies, or to better align the network and
performance of institutions to public needs. Institutional collaboration occurs less
frequently and successfully in the design and delivery of instruction than in other
domains, owing largely to the traditionally autonomous and solitary role of faculty in this
area. Collaboration is much more common in research, engagement, and back-end
administration and other supports, with research collaboration often offering the greatest
performance gains, and administrative collaboration the greatest potential efficiencies.
Targeted grants are the most common tool governments use to encourage institutional
collaboration and consolidation, while more flexible quality assurance standards and the
greater alignment of policy frameworks more generally can also make it much easier for
institutions to collaborate. Evidence about the outcomes of collaborations, alliances, and
mergers is limited, but indicates that these initiatives can strengthen institutional
performance, produce efficiencies, improve resilience and enhance alignment to national
priorities, although not for all institutions in all circumstances. Policymakers who succeed
in promoting effective collaboration appear to strategically stimulate institutional
initiative, support effective planning and implementation, secure stakeholder buy-in,
concentrate resources, and achieve policy alignment.
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Résumé
De plus en plus d’institutions d’enseignement supérieur, ainsi que les gouvernements qui
les régissent, favorisent la collaboration et la consolidation institutionnelles face à la
réduction de la demande étudiante, le durcissement des contraintes fiscales, et
l’intensification de la concurrence internationale pour le prestige, le talent et les flux de
financement. Les collaborations, alliances et fusions peuvent chercher à améliorer la
performance académique, réaliser des économies, ou aligner des activités institutionnelles
aux besoins de la société. Dans l’enseignement, la collaboration est moins fréquente et
réussit moins souvent que dans d’autres domaines d’activité institutionnelle, en grande
partie du fait de l’autonomie et de l’isolement traditionnel des enseignants dans le
supérieur. La collaboration avec partenaires externes est de loin la plus fréquente dans les
domaines de la recherche et de la coopération. Elle semble offrir le plus grand potentiel
de gains de performance dans la recherche, tandis que dans l’administration elle est plus
prometteuse en termes de réalisation d’économies. Pour promouvoir la collaboration et la
consolidation institutionnelles, les gouvernements se servent le plus souvent de mesures
de financement ciblées, bien que des systèmes d’assurance de la qualité et l’alignement
des différents cadres administratifs et politiques puissent également jouer un rôle
facilitateur essentiel. Jusqu’à aujourd’hui, les résultats tangibles d’initiatives visant à
développer les collaborations, alliances et fusions demeurent limités. La littérature
suggère que ce type d’initiative peut renforcer la performance et la résilience
institutionnelles, faire réaliser des économies, et améliorer l’alignement des activités des
institutions sur les besoins de la société, mais ces objectifs ne sont certes pas réalisés dans
tous les cas. Il semble que les initiatives gouvernementales qui réussissent le mieux dans
ce domaine stimulent l’initiative institutionnelle, appuient les institutions dans la
planification et la mise en œuvre des mesures, garantissent l’adhésion des parties
prenantes, concentrent les ressources de façon stratégique, et alignent mesures et
règlements pertinents à ces objectifs.

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Table of contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 3
Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Résumé ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Acronyms and abbreviations ................................................................................................................ 9
Executive summary ............................................................................................................................. 11
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 13
2. Collaboration and consolidation: What they are, where they occur .......................................... 14
2.1. Defining terms ............................................................................................................................ 14
2.2. Mergers ....................................................................................................................................... 15
2.3. Collaboration in teaching ............................................................................................................ 17
2.4. Collaboration in other domains of activity ................................................................................. 25
3. Gauging the impacts of collaboration and consolidation ............................................................. 29
3.1. Academic impacts of mergers ..................................................................................................... 29
3.2. Financial impacts of mergers ...................................................................................................... 31
3.3. Impacts of collaborations and alliances ...................................................................................... 32
3.4. The risks of collaboration and consolidation .............................................................................. 33
4. Policy measures to promote collaboration and consolidation ..................................................... 36
4.1. Why governments intervene ....................................................................................................... 36
4.2. How governments intervene: regulation-based policy instruments ............................................ 37
4.3. How governments intervene: funding instruments ..................................................................... 50
5. Approaches to overcome strategic challenges ............................................................................... 59
5.1. Stimulating institutional initiative ............................................................................................... 59
5.2. Supporting planning and implementation ................................................................................... 60
5.3. Securing stakeholder buy-in ....................................................................................................... 64
5.4. Concentrating resources .............................................................................................................. 67
5.5. Policy alignment ......................................................................................................................... 68
6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 70
Annex A. Policy profiles of collaboration and consolidation initiatives ......................................... 72
Australia ............................................................................................................................................... 72
Denmark: Concentrating universities and government research institutes .................................. 75
England (United Kingdom): Funding collaboration and innovation.............................................. 77
Finland .................................................................................................................................................. 78
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Flanders: “Associations” of universities and university colleges .................................................... 81
France ................................................................................................................................................... 83
Germany ............................................................................................................................................... 86
Ireland: Clusters and technological universities ............................................................................... 88
Japan..................................................................................................................................................... 90
The Netherlands .................................................................................................................................. 92
Norway: Mergers of universities and university colleges ................................................................ 95
Romania: Encouraging university mergers ...................................................................................... 97
Spain: The Campus of International Excellence programme ......................................................... 99
Sweden: Mergers ............................................................................................................................... 101
The United States ............................................................................................................................... 102
Wales: Concentrating universities ................................................................................................... 104
Annex B. Policy approaches to online learning and open educational resources ........................ 108
The development of online learning in the United States .............................................................. 108
Policy approaches to open educational resources ........................................................................... 114
References .......................................................................................................................................... 119

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Figures
Figure 2.1. The Networks-Collaborations-Alliances-Mergers Spectrum .............................................. 14

Boxes
Box 4.1. Should Finnish higher education institutions be permitted to award a degree in a field for which
they offer less than a full study programme? ................................................................................ 44
Box 4.2. Should Finland permit mergers between universities of applied science and research
universities? ................................................................................................................................... 48
Box 4.3. Funding for institutional collaboration in Austria, New Zealand and Nova Scotia ................ 53

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Acronyms and abbreviations
AUD Australian Dollars
ACE American Council on Education
CAD Canadian Dollars
CAE College of Advanced Education
CAM Collaborations, Alliances and Mergers
CC Creative Commons
CCC California Community College
CEAI Center for Education Attainment and Innovation
CEI Campus de Excelencia Internacional
CIHR Canadian Institutes for Health Research
COMUE Communauté inter-académique d'universités et d'établissements
CRN Collaborative Research Networks
CSU California State University
EFTSU Equivalent full-time student units
EHEA European Higher Education Area
ESG Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area
EU European Union
EUA European Universities Association
EUR Euros
FE Further education
GBP British Pounds
GRI Government Research Institute
GW Government of Wales
HEA Higher Education Authority
HEFCE Higher Education Funding Council for England
HEFCW Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
ICT Information and Communications Technologies
IdEX Initiative d'Excellence
IMOS Integrated Marine Observing System
IoT Institute of Technology
JARA Jüluch-Aachen Research Alliance
LCU Legea consorțiilor universitare
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