Elon and Queens Move Forward With Merger as Employee Integration Begins

Elon University and the Queens University of Charlotte submitted their request for accreditation approval in March. They'll start combining some departments on July 1. The two schools sent their request to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and expect a response in June.

An email sent to faculty and staff in mid-April confirmed the timeline. After getting joint accreditation from SACSCOC, the schools will seek approval from the Department of Education, which could come in late 2027 or early 2028 and would complete the full merger.

Departments that will combine on July 1 include admissions, facilities, human resources, and career services. Jeff Stein, chief integration officer at the institution, said the merger lets these departments be part of a bigger team.

"It means they're sharing expertise. It means they are working on projects and systems that impact both campuses, and that'll take some work," said Stein, according to Elon News Network. "When the integration team meets on one of the two campuses, we have heard from folks at Elon and Queens that they really enjoy those days, because on one hand, it humanizes or personalizes the other institution. On the other hand, they actually get to share their knowledge."

All Queens employees will get access to non-retirement and non-healthcare benefits starting July 1. Tuition remission and global study opportunities are included. Those being integrated on that date will become employees of the other school and transition to its payroll, policies, healthcare and retirement benefits.

"What that means is, hopefully, for Queens employees, lower healthcare plan costs, more life insurance," Stein said. "But our plans tend to be a bit more robust because we have a bigger pool of employees, and so the costs are a little bit lower and the plans are a little more robust."

The integration date may shift to June 30 to avoid disrupting healthcare benefits. Faculty will wait. Student life departments will wait. Some support departments will wait until January 2027 to be integrated.

Salary alignment will follow a three-phased approach. Employees at the lower end of the pay scale will be addressed first, and those at the upper end last.

Stein said work is being done to transfer years of service and banked sick and vacation days so employees don't lose those in the process. The schools are still working with SACSCOC, the Department of Education, and the NCAA on keeping the two athletic programs separate.

"This is a hard process, and change is always hard, but folks are making a lot of effort to make this as easy as possible," Stein said.