Otterbein and Antioch Universities are combining forces—but not merging—to create an affiliation that aims to build a national university system focused on graduate education and adult learners.
Mergers and acquisitions across higher education have made national headlines in recent years as colleges make such moves to remain afloat. But the affiliation, announced Thursday, between Otterbein and Antioch offers a different approach, one more comparable to a business alliance.
The two universities hope to officially launch shared programs by fall 2023. But they don’t plan to stop there, as leaders for the two institutions tell Inside Higher Ed that they intend to bring more colleges under the affiliation umbrella to make the yet-to-be-named system truly national.
The Plan
Details emerging on the effort at Otterbein and Antioch—which is independent of the better-known Antioch College—are essentially a rough sketch. Officials note they will need approval from their current accreditors, which they anticipate will take about a year. As they wait, leaders intend to sharpen their business plan and develop early programs. Though they’ve identified areas for collaboration, specific programs haven’t been announced.
The focus will be on graduate education, degree completion and workforce development.
Though ideas for the partnership are still taking shape, leaders envision a system where each college maintains its own unique identity, governing board and accreditation while being part of a national system that can offer collaborative programs, shared services and other advantages. Otterbein and other colleges joining the system that have undergraduates will keep their athletics programs separate.
Antioch president William Groves noted that a number of colleges have approached the university—which has multiple campuses across the U.S. and online offerings—in recent years about an affiliation. And while none of those partnerships were workable, it got the ball rolling on the idea, so Antioch brought in a consultant and developed a list of potential partners.
Out of around 60 institutions that were considered, Groves said, Otterbein rose to the top.
“Our goal was to understand the change in the higher education landscape and the consolidation in the marketplace. We wanted to be at the beginning of this cycle, not at the end of it,” he said. “We wanted to choose a partner that was right for Antioch, one that was focused on a similar mission and value-based education that Antioch is focused on and has been since its inception. Mission was critical, financial viability was critical and complementary programs were critical.”
With the main campuses for both colleges located in Ohio, the partnership makes sense geographically. But more importantly, Groves said, it makes sense from a mission standpoint.
John Comerford, president of Otterbein, noted that calls to develop partnerships began coming during the pandemic. Market challenges, such as a shrinking pool of traditional undergraduate students, also factored into Otterbein’s decision to partner with Antioch to expand its offerings.
“When we’re primarily reliant on 18- to 22-year-old traditional undergraduates, we understand the challenges of that market. How do you think in new ways about ability to serve new students?” Comerford said.
Joining forces with Antioch offers an immediate expansion to a new market of students. While Otterbein already offers limited graduate options, …….