Faced with a decade-long undergraduate enrollment decline and rising operating costs, colleges and university systems are increasingly pursuing mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Presidents and boards are reframing consolidation as a tool for long-term sustainability rather than a last resort. Recent moves include exploratory consolidation talks, cross-campus program sharing, and regional alignments designed to preserve access and reduce duplicative offerings. Higher-education leaders cited enrollment drops of roughly 15% over the past decade and warned that tuition-dependent small institutions are most at risk. Regulators, accreditors and state systems will play central roles as deals progress, with due diligence focusing on academic quality, financial responsibility and Title IV compliance.