Dive Transient:
- The College of Texas System’s governing board introduced plans Thursday to mix a analysis college and tutorial well being middle in San Antonio into one establishment.
- Underneath the plan, the College of Texas at San Antonio and the College of Texas Well being Science Heart at San Antonio — that are solely about eight miles aside — will merge by 2025, pending accreditor approval.
- UT San Antonio would be the “overarching establishment,” with UT Well being San Antonio working as a part of the college, in keeping with an FAQ on the merger. Taylor Eighmy, at the moment president of UT San Antonio, has been tapped to steer the mixed establishment.
Dive Perception:
This isn’t the primary time the UT System has thought-about merging the 2 establishments — the concept was additionally explored in 2002 and 2010. However current progress at each establishments has created the “good time to return collectively as one powerhouse college,” officers stated in a doc laying out the case for the mixing.
Enrollment has ticked up at each universities over the previous few years, beating sectorwide traits. UT San Antonio had 34,393 college students in fall 2022, up 12.9% from a decade earlier, per federal information. In the meantime, UT Well being San Antonio’s enrollment grew 8.3% over the interval, with 3,518 college students in fall 2022.
Carnegie Classifications lists UT San Antonio as a R1 establishment, a coveted designation for universities with the best ranges of analysis exercise. Most of its college students, roughly 30,000, are undergraduates, and the college lacks a medical school.
In the meantime, UT Well being San Antonio caters to these pursuing well being sciences levels, and graduate college students make up nearly all of its enrollment. Its choices embrace medical, nursing and dentistry colleges.
The merged establishment will develop into the third-largest analysis college in Texas, officers stated in the announcement. Collectively, the 2 establishments will enroll 40,000 college students, make use of nearly 16,000 staff and have an endowment totaling $1.1 billion.
The 2 universities largely have complementary quite than competing applications, in keeping with the FAQ. By combining, officers anticipate the establishments will be capable of provide joint diploma applications and increase their tutorial choices. System officers stated the merger would assist create clearer pathways between undergraduate and graduate applications, particularly in well being sciences fields.
Nonetheless, officers will consider over the subsequent 12 months whether or not they’ll consolidate any applications or companies. Within the FAQ, they didn’t say whether or not the merger will result in layoffs, although they burdened the transfer just isn’t a “cost-cutting venture.”
“It’s untimely to invest on job numbers presently, however the major focus is on growth and innovation that may possible result in the creation of recent roles and alternatives,” the FAQ said.
System leaders additionally hope to spice up the establishments’ analysis efforts, with officers anticipating that the merger will enhance their “aggressive edge to draw extra grants and contracts to San Antonio.” The mixed establishment can have near $470 million in annual analysis expenditures, in keeping with the announcement.
Officers additionally anticipate the mixed establishment will draw extra staff to San Antonio within the healthcare, expertise and enterprise fields.
“By bringing collectively all of their complementary and distinctive strengths, we’ll give Texans entry to the very best schooling, discoveries and well being care conceivable, whereas accelerating the college’s trajectory as a prime U.S. and international college,” UT System Board Chair Kevin Eltife stated in a press release.
