In a surprise announcement on Sept. 16, Queens University of Charlotte and Elon University announced that the two distinguished institutions would merge, entering a new age for higher education in Charlotte. 

In a statement, the universities said, “Both institutions believe that together, they can have a greater impact—expanding access to high-quality education, meeting Charlotte’s evolving workforce needs and creating new opportunities for students.”

I transferred to UNC Charlotte from Queens, and a lot of my closest friends still attend the university, so hearing the announcement felt a bit weird. Even though I left the school, Queens still feels like home to me, so I immediately feared that a lot of what made it feel so special would be lost. 

From being able to run to Uptown or Southend within 10 to 15 minutes, to casino night (one of the most popular traditions at Queens), being able to walk to the annual Greek festival or being a member of the soccer club and being apart of their production of “Sweeney Todd,” Queens gave me so many lifelong memories that I will always cherish. 

Charlotte is my new home, and I am very glad to attend here. But I will never forget Queens and hope future classes of students will be able to have similar memories. 

The idea of another school taking over the management of Queens and some of those memorable things fading away is upsetting to me, but listening to the two schools talk about it inspires hope. This merger is not Elon taking control of Queens, but rather the two coming together and managing the school. 

There is, of course, the elephant in the room: the financial state of Queens before the merger. After welcoming their largest incoming first-year class in 2023, comprising 414 students, the school’s enrollment has declined from a total of 1,846 undergraduate and graduate students in the fall of 2023 to 1,599 in 2024. 

Queens also reported missing their enrollment goals by 100 students for the fall semester of 2024, which led to layoffs and budget cuts. This also comes as Queens’ tuition has increased for students by about 3-4% per year. This is actually a big reason why I ended up transferring to Charlotte; the cost to attend Queens became too high. 

This is the problem with being a smaller institution: the margin of error for missing enrollment goals is much tighter. For a bigger school, especially one that is publicly funded, missing their targeted enrollment by 100 or 200 students is not great, but it is not financially crippling; for a school of Queens’ size, it can be detrimental. 

Elon is about 4.5 times the size of Queens, and because of that, it has a bigger financial pool to pull from. In recent years, Elon has been trying to expand its presence in the Charlotte area, including opening a campus of its law school in Southend in 2022. If the merger with Elon is able to add some funding to Queens, it could help them avoid having to deal with budget cuts and other money-saving measures while they work to bring their enrollment numbers back up. 

The reason Queens originally missed their enrollment goals in 2024 was due to troubles with the rollout of the new FAFSA form, something that is most likely going to happen again. With this merger, Queens may not have to stress about it as much when FAFSA enrollment occurs.

The library on the Queens campus, while nice, definitely needs upgrades. From my time there, my biggest issue was with the dining hall and its hours. If Elon invests in the campus and Queens can upgrade the library and improve the dining, for example, by being able to have a couple of dining options open later, I think this would be viewed very positively by the student population at Queens. Also, if the option were between merging or risking Queens having to close if they continued to miss their enrollment goals, I guarantee everyone would pick a merge. 

For Elon, the merger has two major benefits: it vastly increases its presence in Charlotte, and it creates a pipeline to its law school. In 2024, Queens hosted a collection of post-grad schools for them to table and garner interest for their programs, and Elon Law was one of them. 

Queens does not have a post-grad law program, and with Elon just opening its law school’s location in the Queen City, this created a perfect opportunity for Elon to reach potential new students. 

Elon, with its main campus located in Burlington, N.C., has been on the outside looking in when it comes to Charlotte. Even with its new law school location, they still did not have a real presence in the city to draw potential students to. With the merger and the acquisition of one of the most historic college campuses in the city, Elon now has a foothold in Charlotte. 

Current Queens students looking to pursue a career in law will now have a direct pipeline from Queens to Elon Law. 

Depending on what this merger would entail, it may also open the doors for Elon students who are interested in moving to and living in the Charlotte area. This would also allow them to have access to Queens’ broad alumni network that extends across Charlotte and around the globe, including employees of some of the most notable companies in the city.

All said and done, I believe this merger could be a great thing for both institutions. For Queens, merging with Elon may allow for more funding and upgrades to be done across campus, such as upgrading the library and providing access to more financial aid and awards for students. Another bonus is being included in Elon’s vast alumni network and law school, and the increased financial stability. 

Elon, with this merger, can increase its presence and visibility in the Charlotte area, as well as create a bigger network of students who are interested in a law program. 

My biggest concern as a Queens alumnus is that Queens may lose its identity in the merger. So far, press conferences from both institutions have emphasized their commitment to preserving each school’s student experience and culture while expanding opportunities. 

Given this, I am optimistic about the future of both Queens and Elon and am excited to see what comes next.