Coalition or Collapse
UK universities are weighing bold plans to pool nearly all administrative services as financial pressure mounts. Payroll, HR, IT, and procurement may soon be managed collectively rather than campus by campus. Supporters argue that streamlining would protect academics by redirecting savings to teaching and research. In the US, similar coalitions are emerging. The Cal State Bay Area Network would share back office functions across three campuses, while New Mexico’s CHESS coalition links six community colleges on a single platform. Long standing groups such as the Ohio Five show how collaboration cuts costs and strengthens academic life. What began as cost cutting is now a structural reimagining, suggesting that coalitions may not only help institutions endure but also define the future of higher education.
Anonymous, Somerset House, 1836. Public domain.