Granite State College, UNH Manchester joining forces

ranite State College and the UNH Manchester campus will combine their complementary missions under a merger plan approved in July by the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) board of trustees, creating a single, merged college in the Manchester-Concord corridor.

Following work with state legislators and accreditors, the merger is intended to create a college within UNH that will retain the Granite State College name. A second initiative will combine GSC and UNH online learning enterprises to strengthen, promote and expand online education for all USNH institutions.

“This plan was developed and endorsed by a cross-section of the USNH community, including most notably Granite State College’s president and leadership team, alumni trustees and a student trustee, the presidents and leadership teams of UNH, Plymouth State University and Keene State College, and legislative representative members of the USNH board,” said Joe Morone, chair of the USNH Board of Trustees. “All of us on the board look forward to working with elected officials to implement fully this important next step in USNH’s continuing efforts to secure the future of New Hampshire’s public higher education.”

Higher education across the country is facing a demographics challenge with a decline in the high school aged population. The change is especially steep across northern New England, where the population has been aging at a rate faster than the national average for the past two decades. According to an analysis of U.S. Census data from the Carsey School of Public Policy, the population of New Hampshire residents under age 18 declined by 10.6 percent over the last decade. And the decline in younger residents is expected to continue into 2030, shrinking the pool of potential college students even further.

As part of the merger plan, the USNH board of trustees voted unanimously to elect UNH President James W. Dean, Jr. to also serve as president of Granite State College.

“Our goal is to create purposeful growth of Granite State College and the University of New Hampshire to better serve students by increasing the breadth of offerings, advancing the educational mission, and strengthening the University System of New Hampshire,” Dean said. “The decision by the board sets us on a path of combining the ample strengths of GSC and UNH in ways that will support enhanced educational opportunities for all.”

More information about the plan is available at www.unh.edu/provost/granite-state-college-and-unh.