Managing Organizational Change in an Educational Environment: a Case Study of the Merger of Two Technical Colleges

Change is inevitable in technical and community colleges. Escalating demands for accountability in education by stakeholders is on the forefront of the education agenda. Faced with less funding, declining enrollments, stagnant retention and completion rates, increased competition with non-profits, technological advances, and spiraling infrastructure expenses, decision-makers often use mergers to address these issues. This study describes the effects of a State-mandated merger of a traditionally White two-year technical college with a historically Black two-year technical college. The findings of this study are in congruence with the literature on large-scale organizational change, organizational culture, and institutional effectiveness. This research has confirmed that educational mergers, in general, are often faced with sizeable challenges for educational leaders. These challenges include, most prominently, organizational culture, which may have profound influence on student outcomes and institutional effectiveness.