US colleges consider new consolidation options to help cut costs By Lucinda Shen, The Daily Tar Heel

University systems across the nation are proposing new solutions to grapple with millions in state budget cuts — including merging some of the campuses in operation. The University of Maryland might consolidate two of its campuses, UM-College Park and UM-Baltimore, to cut costs. Administrators say the proposed merger would improve the university’s standing among its peers. Although complete universities were not merged, the State University of New York, which has absorbed state funding cuts totaling $1.4 billion in the past four years, decided to merge the presidential offices overseeing individual campuses to maintain academic quality.