A Success Story? An Exploration of the Consolidation Efforts in the University System of Georgia
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Authors
Hagler, James R., Jr.
Issue Date
2021-12
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , College dropouts--Prevention , Education, Higher , Georgia , School budgets , School enrollment , Schools--Centralization , University System of Georgia
Alternative Title
Abstract
Consolidation has been practiced in governments, school districts, and business for many years and in higher education since the early 1900s with the primary focus on the efficiency and financial savings found in the process. The nine consolidations in the University System of Georgia (USG) were driven by six principles which sought to achieve better processes and efficiency of services to the regional areas in which the institutions were consolidated into a single entity. This study of the nine consolidations in the USG reveals increases in the budgets at the institutions and the cost of attendance (tuition and fees plus room and board) while finding a decrease in the enrollment at the institutions after consolidation on average. The primary area the study found a positive impact from consolidation was in the area of retention which helped to retain more students at the consolidated institutions as compared to prior to consolidation at the same institutions. In addition to the analysis of institutional data pre- and post-consolidations, analysis of committees at the nine institutions was conducted for consolidation committee member composition and a survey was conducted of committee members at three of the consolidated institutions. Responses to the surveys allowed respondents to rate their view of the success of the consolidation, the biggest obstacles encountered by the committee, and the biggest issues faced by the committee. This study of institutional data and survey of consolidation committee members reveals pathways for future consolidations to reduce problems of future consolidations.
Keywords: Consolidation, Enrollment, Retention, Higher Education, Budget, Campus Consolidation
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.