The COVID-19 global pandemic has presented enormous medical, economic, and sociologic challenges for higher education leaders. To better understand what the pandemic might mean for mergers in higher education, we need to first recognize the macro-impacts of the crisis on the industry as a whole.

First, for many institutions the pandemic will result in decreased funding. For public institutions, support will be challenged as public and tax-payer dollars are diverted to other areas of the economy, including unemployment benefits, financial stimulus, and enhanced healthcare support. For private institutions, the declining financial ability of students and their families to pay higher tuition, and the decrease in external (both private and public) support will strain operations. Financial stressors may be worsened in the pandemic environment by the need to rapidly expand online offerings, absorb housing and other costs usually paid by students, and provide required health-related services.