ENROLL IN A CONSORTIUM

By Fritz H. Grupe

"The Five College Interchange Program initiated by Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Hampshire College was a major incentive for me in applying to transfer to the University of Massachusetts," says Hannah Della Costa, a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "Through this program I had the opportunity to take an anthropology class at Mount Holyoke College last semester. It was a valuable academic and social experience. The class atmosphere at Mount Holyoke was quite different from the University. In all, the cross-registration program provides students with the luxury of having a small, liberal arts atmosphere and a large, energetic university setting both at our fingertips."

What is Hannah talking about? Ideally, when you are deciding on a college to attend, you should be evaluating all characteristics of the campuses you are considering. One campus characteristic that most students don’t find out about before enrollment, if ever, is the connections between campuses that can significantly enhance one’s educational and co-curricular opportunities. Your campus may have cooperative relationships with other campuses that can benefit you in ways you may not realize. These relationships may include membership of a department or campus in a consortium, an organization that creates innovative programs involving several member campuses.

"By enrolling in an institution that is in a consortium, the student has access to a broader array of classes through cross-registration, including joint academic programs," says Dr. Larry Dotolo, the director of the Association for Consortium Leadership (www.acl.odu.edu). The Association’s Web site provides links to more than 50 consortia across the country, but there are many more. "It allows students to use the library and other facilities of member institutions, and it increases the opportunities for the student to experience a multitude of cultural, social and academic events."

Here are some of the many arrangements that students might consider to be important as they look at majors they are interested in at various campuses.

Cross-registration

Cross-registration agreements allow students to enroll at one campus, but take a limited number of courses for free at other campuses. This option enables students to experiment with majors not found on their own campus and to expand the number of courses available to them in their major. This is a great benefit to students attending small schools whose course choices and range of faculty may be limited.

Study abroad

Most campuses cannot support study abroad programs on their own. Many, however, participate in programs that are supported by a consortium of colleges with a broader base to support these costly programs.

Jeff Sutich, a University of Nevada, Reno student who traveled to Italy through the University Study Abroad Consortium, a consortium involving 32 universities, says, "I can’t emphasize how much studying abroad with other U.S. students, Italian students and faculty from other campuses opened my eyes to a new culture and beliefs outside of my own closed views. If I could explain it with one word, 'invigorating!' Not only did I make lifelong friends from Italy, Spain and Switzerland, but I also now have some from Idaho, California, Ohio, New York and Wisconsin! When studying abroad, you can also have the opportunity to take courses that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to take."

If you are majoring in history, political science, language or many other fields, access to study abroad programs is important.

Domestic student exchange

Most people think of student exchange as an opportunity to take them oceans away, but the National Student Exchange (NSE) takes a different approach. Through NSE, students enroll on a full-time basis at one of NSE’s 190-member campuses in the United States and Canada. Exchanges, generally at the same tuition rate as their home university, offer students opportunities to
experience diverse cultural settings, reside in different regions, acquire life skills and expand their academic program options. "These experiences," notes Bette Worley, President of NSE, "help students examine their own values, beliefs and behaviors in a broader context than that offered by a single campus."

Articulated curricula

Of special interest to students are agreements that ease the movement of students from an undergraduate course of study to a professional course of study. They help a student to plan a course of study that guarantees them admission to a graduate degree program, which saves them time in that program.

An example of this type of curriculum is one that permits a student to earn a bachelor’s degree and a master’s of business administration in five, rather than six, years. Many liberal arts colleges have agreements with engineering colleges that enable a student to obtain a bachelor’s degree in both the arts and engineering in five years. Two-year colleges often have agreements assuring students that all of their credits will be accepted as transferable to four-year campuses.

Joint majors

Some schools make available majors by taking courses at more than one institution. Black studies, gender studies and astronomy are some examples found at a few institutions.

Cooperative research agreements

Faculty at small colleges tend to do less research than faculty at larger campuses. Often there can be arrangements for advanced and honors students to become involved in research at the larger campus while enrolled at their home college.

Faculty exchanges and joint faculty appointments

Some campuses have such close relationships with other campuses that they regularly share faculty. This expands the variety of course offerings available at each campus. Such sharing arrangements may include joint appointment faculty, who are employed by two campuses simultaneously.

Shared research and teaching facilities

Research consortia maintain well-respected, scientific, overseas study and other research centers in priority locations. Besides addressing graduate and faculty research, many of these centers also provide for student research and teaching opportunities.

Transportation between campuses

Some consortia support bus transportation among the member campuses. This service is drawn on for cross-registrants, library users and students who want to attend co-curricular activities at another school.

There are many other examples of cooperative activities that can contribute to your education and your enjoyment of the college experience. Some of these are social and facilitate getting to know students from other campuses. Others provide access to special facilities and programs like radio stations and laboratory equipment. All are beneficial.

Are there consortia in your future that can make your education unique and exciting?

Dr. Fritz Grupe is the president of MyMajors.com, a Web site that helps students identify college majors to help them pursue and obtain information about those majors, as well as about colleges that offer those majors.