A Successful Acquisition Starts with Integration Planning

Facing declining enrollment and unsustainable tuition discounting, Roosevelt University and Robert Morris University-Illinois (RMUI) saw an opportunity to create a stronger institution by combining two universities with complementary missions. The 2020 acquisition brought approximately 1,200 RMUI students to Roosevelt and, through careful integration, created opportunities to reduce duplication, increase efficiency, and strengthen long-term viability.

The Challenge

Roosevelt and RMUI shared a commitment to serving diverse, first-generation, working adult, and career-focused students in the Chicago region. They also shared significant business challenges: declining enrollment and unsustainable tuition discounting.

The Approach

Combining the institutions offered an opportunity to preserve educational opportunities for students, expand Roosevelt’s mission, and build a more sustainable operating model. Roosevelt approached integration as essential to realizing the value of the acquisition. Planning focused on how the combined institution could use Roosevelt’s existing infrastructure, administrative systems, technology platforms, and facilities to serve a larger student population while reducing duplication and improving efficiency.

Just as important, integration required attention to the cultures of both universities and to preserving the mission and educational opportunities that brought the institutions together. By focusing on integrating operations, finances, academics, and cultures, Roosevelt created a stronger foundation for the combined institution.

The Outcome

The acquisition added approximately 1,200 students to Roosevelt and helped create a stronger foundation for the future. Roosevelt has since experienced four years of enrollment growth and increased net tuition revenue per student. More than simply absorbing another institution, the successful integration combined the strengths and resources of both universities to create a stronger, more capable Roosevelt. It also strengthened the university’s reputation with competitors, regulators, and accreditors as an institution capable of managing complex transformation.

The Lesson: Plan for Integration from the Start

A merger or acquisition does not create value simply because the transaction closes. Boards and leaders should plan early for how institutions will integrate people, cultures, academic programs, systems, operations, and resources—and how those decisions will advance the goals that made the partnership worthwhile in the first place.