Dive Brief:
- In order to avoid financial controversies and crises like the one facing Northern Illinois University, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune argues that the state should consolidate and centralize authority and oversight of the state university system, which was changed in 1995 to offer more local control.
- The state originally had four governing boards controlling 12 schools; there are now nine boards. Many argue the system is not able to address issues pertaining to the entirety of the system, with the lack of centralization leading to a lack of communication across campuses.
- The Tribune argues Illinois could look to other states like Wisconsin and New York as models, and if university presidents felt they were accountable to statewide regulators, they may be less likely to conduct troublesome practices like significant salaries to outside consultants.
Dive Insight:
Many states have looked to consolidate administrative functions to lessen the cost burden on individual institutions. Some states are considering merging the campuses of public colleges and universities in the face of declining enrollment and increasing costs, and though often seen as a budgetary consideration, there could be benefits to colleges combining forces. When Albany State University and Darton State College got approved for consolidation in late 2015, it allowed school leaders to frame it as a new institution, offering a revised mission statement, but that decision came with significant backlash from Albany State stakeholders, who didn't appreciate the whitewashing of the school's historically black designation.
In an industry that can often be criticized for being traditionalist and too wedded to conventional approaches, consolidation can offer a means to rethink the core of an institution’s approach. However, it is uncertain that consolidation will bring about greater efficiency and lower costs; some mergers and consolidations have been reconsidered as an analysis deemed the cost of the merger would outweigh any subsequent financial benefits. It is also unclear that budget cuts to university programs and services would necessarily lead to less administrative overhead. A 2016 investigation found that spending on executive and administrative staff increased by 15% between 2007 and 2014, despite collective budget cuts by states to higher ed institutions by 18% in that same period. There is not necessarily a clear cause as to why administrative spending increased while academic programs were cut in many instances, but administrators and states considering administrative consolidation should consider that it does not inherently lead to lower expenditures for administrative staff.