Lackawanna School and Peirce School plan to mix below the Lackawanna identify, the 2 Pennsylvania establishments introduced Wednesday.
Earlier than finalizing, the mixture would require regulatory and accreditor approval, which the universities anticipate to return by June 2025. Each schools are accredited by the Center States Fee on Larger Schooling.
In a press launch, the universities mentioned the merger would “solidify Lackawanna’s place as the biggest open enrollment personal, nonprofit establishment” in Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia-based Peirce caters largely to grownup learners, providing affiliate, bachelor’s and grasp’s diploma packages. Lackawanna, whose important campus is in Scranton, Pa., provides affiliate and bachelor’s levels together with persevering with schooling certificates.
In a joint interview, the establishments’ respective leaders framed the consolidation as a strategy to make each schools stronger by combining sources and specialties.
“It is a proactive step, a strategic transfer for each of us,” Jill Murray, Lackawanna’s president, advised Larger Ed Dive. “Larger ed shouldn’t be a simple place proper now for many individuals, and particularly in Pennsylvania. That is not true of us. We’re each in wholesome form.”
Programming performed a significant position within the resolution to mix, officers mentioned.
Mary Ellen Caro, president and CEO of Peirce, famous that her school brings graduate packages to the combination, whereas Lackawanna has many utilized and medical packages that may complement Peirce’s choices within the Philadelphia market.
“We each had fascinating massive partnerships with companies that could possibly be expanded,” Caro added.
What’s subsequent for the universities
The Philadelphia-based Peirce will add a brand new marketplace for Lackawanna. Each schools give attention to their native scholar bases and job market wants and can proceed to take action after they mix, their presidents mentioned.
“We perceive the necessity for serving the populations wherein we reside,” Murray mentioned. “We’re not trying to essentially recruit college students from Connecticut. We’re trying to influence the workforce within the areas wherein we serve, and that, for a lot of schools, is obscure.”
Underneath the settlement, Lackawanna is about to soak up Peirce’s income and steadiness sheet, officers advised Larger Ed Dive.
The deal will carry some important modifications to the greater than 150-year-old Peirce. As soon as it’s accomplished, Peirce’s board will successfully be dissolved. Murray mentioned Lackawanna plans so as to add some members from Peirce’s board onto its personal, although particulars haven’t been finalized.
Caro may also step down as soon as the establishments mix.
“I’ll joyfully hand this over to Jill to run, however be there as one among their strongest cheerleaders,” mentioned Caro, who grew to become president and CEO in 2018 and is the primary girl to carry the highest management position at Peirce.
Lackawanna, which is 130 years outdated, is the bigger of the 2 schools right now, with a headcount of 1,868 college students in fall 2022, which was up greater than 16% from 5 years prior. Peirce has seen enrollment plunge over that point by 42% to 856 college students.
However each leaders maintained the universities have been in comparatively fine condition, although Peirce has posted price range deficits lately. As an indication of Peirce’s well being, Murray pointed to the school’s steadiness sheet, which as of fiscal 2023 listed greater than $22 million in belongings out there to spend and no long-term debt exterior of a property mortgage.
Combining offers alternatives to save cash, resembling on software program instruments. Requested about potential employees reductions, Murray mentioned Lackawanna is targeted on areas of doable development with the deal.
“I believe there’s going to be some pure attrition over the course of the following 12 months or so, however we’re hopeful that we’re going to have the ability to preserve as a lot expertise and employees as doable,” she added.
‘It’s the connection that issues’
Lackawanna plans to maintain Peirce’s id and legacy alive by making it a faculty inside Lackawanna, in accordance with Murray. Lackawanna additionally plans to call a web-based school after Peirce, she added.
With extra schools coming below monetary stress — amid demographic shifts, revenue pressure and rising costs — some anticipate an increase in mergers as a possible answer. However timing, communication and collaboration are critical to success, consultants say.
Murray and Caro started speaking and collaborating earlier than a merger was even on the desk. Their collaboration began shortly after the upper ed world started reopening to in-person conferences within the pandemic period, when the 2 school presidents occurred to sit down subsequent to one another at a discussion board.
“We have been sharing our respective tales concerning the market, about our challenges, experiences, alternatives,” Caro mentioned. “It was clear from the start that we had nice alignment between our missions, being open enrollment establishments on the undergraduate stage and having complementary portfolios.”
Their groups first started working collectively on articulation agreements in order that Lackawanna graduates might transfer on to grasp’s levels at Peirce.
“It’s the connection that issues,” Murray mentioned. “We mentioned, ‘Oh, wow, this might actually be one thing particular.’ We get alongside, we clicked, our groups labored, and we thought, ‘What if?’”
