A merger between the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia must not result in job losses, axed courses or closed campuses, the Greens say.
Both universities have agreed to explore if a merged institution would deliver better outcomes with a report to be delivered by the end of the year.
Greens higher education spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young says funding cuts are pressuring universities to have such talks and wants the negotiations to lead to more South Australians accessing university, not less.
"There are a combined 6800 people employed at these two institutions who will be nervous about what merger talks mean for them," she said.
"Students will be concerned what it means for the degrees they are currently enrolled in, and if a merger was to occur, how that would be affected."
But chancellors Kevin Scarce and Jim McDowell said the national and international landscapes of higher education were rapidly changing.
"Now is the time to facilitate a conversation about whether uniting our universities would create a new, internationally renowned university of scale that would be well placed to anticipate and respond to this changing landscape," they said.
Premier Steven Marshall said the two organisations were to be applauded for addressing a long-standing issue head-on while Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the move acknowledged that bold leaps might be required to deliver higher education.
