ARTICLE

The eight essential phases of college mergers

Merging two (or more!) well-established colleges is undeniably a complicated and involved process, with statutory regulations to follow, due diligence to complete and joint planning to commence — and all of this on top of business-as-usual operations. So, where should you begin?

On average, a merger will take at least a year to plan for (and several more years to fully integrate — read more about this in our top tips for post-merger integration). We would (of course) recommend that you work with reputable and experienced education consultants who can guide you through the whole process and take away unnecessary stress and worry. But whether you hire a consultant or second internal resource, a dedicated merger project or programme manager is an absolute must — to plot out all the required decisions and deliverables, support the creation and delivery of departmental implementation plans, and keep colleagues on task.

Here are the eight vital phases for a successful merger:

Phase 1: Understanding the process and the colleges

Start by getting all the governors and senior leadership teams on the same page. What is the rationale for merging? What’s the history and culture of the existing colleges? How does each college work currently? What potential issues are known or foreseen?

Setting up a Joint Steering Group is essential — make sure the first meeting involves agreeing the Group’s terms of reference and the communication protocol, and set the dates of future meetings in line with key milestones.

Phase 2: Carry out due diligence

With any legal agreement, it’s essential that due diligence is undertaken to ensure the decision-makers have all the facts and can exercise care with the proceedings. The same goes for college mergers. The governors should be presented with both the legal and financial findings early on to inform the planning and decision-making process.

Phase 3: Set up workstreams and create the implementation plans

You’ll need to set up a workstream for each operational area with representatives from each of the colleges. This group will collaborate on their implementation plan — a record of all the decisions and actions required in the lead-up to the merger (and beyond), with key dates to track progress against at each meeting.

A separate top-level implementation plan will also be required for governance and leadership, as well as an overall merger budget.

Phase 4: The public consultation

The education sector has regulatory guidelines that must be followed and particular statutory agencies that must be informed of the proposal to merge.

Conducting a public consultation and publishing the outcome following receipt of any feedback is a key part of this phase.

Phase 5: Workstream activities

In addition to the day-to-day college operations, there will be numerous actions for each workstream. Regular catch-ups to review progress against the implementation plans will ensure key deadlines are met and any issues are dealt with as they are raised.

Phase 6: Governance and management structures

A separate top-level implementation plan will also be required for governance and leadership, as well as an overall merger budget.

Phase 7: Consulting staff on TUPE

To transfer staff to the employment of the newly merged college, you will need to enact TUPE regulations — the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment). This will involve a consultation with trade unions and affected staff ahead of the merger.

Phase 8: Dissolution and merger date

You will need to publish the statutory notice informing the public of the impending merger and complete various legal and governance actions.

At the point of merger, the governors must hold a meeting to dissolve the existing corporations and initiate the new arrangements you planned for in phase 6.

What next?

Of course, the work doesn’t end here — it’s now time to start actioning those integration plans and building the new internal structures (don’t forget about our aforementioned top tips for post-merger integration!).

Here at Rockborn, we’ve supported countless colleges through this process — providing support with due diligence activities, submitting funding applications, delivering communications and consulting stakeholders, as well as managing the internal workstreams and top-level programme, and providing HR advice. Get in touch if you could benefit from our help.