英國大學整併政策及其成效評估：1992年～

The Policy of University Mergers in the UK and Its Evaluation Since 1992

大學整併在世界各國已是一常見趨勢，在我國也不例外，由於此一議題的重要性，本文針對大學整併數量極高的英國加以探討，試圖了解其相關整併政策與具體成效。本文首先探討英國大學整併的背景與緣起，以及政府整併政策與具體經費補助措施。其次針對大學的整併動機加以分析，包含：經費考量與生源減少、強化專業領域能量、世界排名與研究能量的提升、評鑑壓力、地理與區域發展因素、及結合擴充教育與高等教育：擴充入學管道。就整併成果來看，自1992 至今，整併案的討論共有69 件，其中數量最多的是英格蘭，由此可看出英國各校對整併採取極為積極的態度，作者並舉倫敦大學大學學院與威爾斯大學為例來說明。針對以上分析，作者指出，英國政府訂定補助辦法鼓勵整併，大學對整併採積極態度。再者，縮減的政府經費與高教全球競爭成為新的整併動機。根據英國整併經驗，作者提出給予必要經費挹注，鼓勵大學整併；及出版相關指引與計畫書以等兩項建議。

The paper first explores the background of the university merger in the UK and related policies and funding mechanism. Second， the motivations of the British universities for pursuing mergers are analyzed. It is found that their main concerns are: insufficient budgets， decreased student enrollment， needs for strengthening capability in professional fields， global university ranking， pressure from quality assurance agencies， geographical and regional development concerns， and widening access. From 1992， there have been more than 60 cases of university mergers under discussion， this shows most universities hold positive attitudes towards mergers. The author concludes that 1. the universities are active in pursuing mergers with adequate government encouragement; 2. the decreased funding in higher education and the global competition in higher education have become the new incentives for universities to pursue mergers; 3. the key factors which affect the success of mergers are indicated. Based on the UK’s experience， the author provides some suggestions for Taiwanese government.