ED Plans to Ease Merger Pathways

"The work is burdensome, it takes too long, it's too expensive and we want to make sure that, as we encourage institutions to move faster, be more adaptable to workforce needs and what students and families need, the department is following its own advice and that we have regulations that allow us to move a little bit faster, or a lot faster than what we currently can."

"Under the current rules, mergers or acquisitions can take more than a year and sometimes closer to two years, depending on the complexity of the change in ownership. Such processes drag on due to overlapping approvals involving the Education Department, accreditors and state regulators."

"Ultimately the goal, Kent said, is 'to make it easier for these conversations to happen.' Although he did not commit to a specific timeline, Kent said the Department of Education aims to begin 'regulating on this either later this year or early next year.'"

Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent announced that the Department of Education intends to ease regulatory processes for college mergers and acquisitions. Current procedures take one to two years due to overlapping approvals from the Education Department, accreditors, and state regulators. Kent emphasized that existing rules are burdensome, expensive, and slow institutions' ability to adapt to workforce needs. The department plans to begin regulatory changes either later this year or early next year. These changes are timely as colleges increasingly seek partnerships to address financial challenges and demographic headwinds, with some institutions potentially facing closure without collaborative solutions.

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