The implementation of an academic program merger: Efficiencies of information exchange and restraint under the principles of shared governance

Although the elimination of academic programs has received significant interest in the literature on change and transformation in higher education, few empirical research studies exist that examine the transformative effects of initiatives to consolidate academic units. This case study contributes to the literature on academic program mergers by focusing on three understudied areas of analysis. These are: (1) to delineate between the decision-making rules and criteria campus leaders employ when constructing policies of academic program closures and those intended to consolidate units; (2) to examine the ways in which the exchange and restraint of information during the decision-making process may shape the perceptions of key stakeholders that the implementation of a program merger was successful in relation to the desired outcomes; and, (3) to explore the extent to which principles of shared governance were adhered to among faculty and campus leaders during the design and implementation of the merger.; The results of this case study indicate that the decision-making rules applied to the merger are similar to studies that describe the criteria senior administrators use to justify the elimination of programs. However, evidence from this case suggests that an uninterrupted path towards consolidation occurred because the Provost, in consultation with selected administrative faculty, initially presented the reorganization initiative to the faculty as an opportunity to merge. Evidence shows that the actions of key faculty to implement the merger shortly after it was announced also helped deflect any possible considerations made to eliminate the units. On the whole, the results of this study do not support the application of informational efficiency models derived from the field of political science to explain the communicative actions underlying policies of academic consolidation. Findings point to the need for a more robust informational efficiency model of academic policy-making that considers the cultural characteristics of postsecondary institutions. The data also indicates two approaches to governance were influencing the merger process. The initial decision to consolidate the two programs was essentially a hierarchical, top-down decision. However, the implementation of the merger reflected a more collaborative and faculty-driven decision-making process.