The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), a unit within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, is the world's largest social science data archive. The data sets in the ICPRS database give the social sciences librarian/subject specialist an opportunity of providing value-added bibliographic…

Higher education institutions are confronted with increasing demand for electronic access to educational opportunities, improved academic quality and accountability, and new academic programs that address societal workforce and economic development needs. Collaboration allows institutions to combine resources to respond efficiently and effectively…

The Colleges of Worcester Consortium has created a broad array of statewide, higher education access services over several decades by leveraging federal, state, local, and foundation resources. The consortium comprises thirteen diverse colleges and universities in central Massachusetts and is a nonprofit regional association of these institutions:…

Describes the sharing of facilities with member schools participating in a given consortium.'' (Author)

Describes the SUNY Colleges in the North Country Consortium, which comprises nine higher education institutions committed to working collaboratively and in concert with an Army Education Center at Fort Drum. The consortium provides educational services to active-duty military and their spouses. (EV)

Discusses how joint buying through consortial arrangements has had a dramatic impact on the purchasing power of higher education institutions, with cooperative agreements leading to significant savings for the member institutions. (EV)

Describes efforts of the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement (NCCI), which seeks to function as a catalyst for higher education institutions to come together in search of best practices. The organization presents an annual meeting and several workshops a year, hosts a Web site, distributes electronic bulletins, and is starting an…

Notes the growing interest in instructional television (ITV) since the creation of a special mass media task force by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC). Describes the AACJC's newly created Instructional Telecommunications Consortium, which is designed to promote liaison between ITV producers and consumers. (JP)

States the case for the consortium in higher education and then examines a consortium with which the author is familiar--Monitoba's Inter-Universities North. Raises questions about the applicability of the consortium idea to the offering of academic programs and makes recommendations for institutions contemplating establishing a consortium.…

Discusses how collaboration among institutions of higher education in developing international programs and globalizing the curriculum is becoming an effective strategy in postsecondary education. Especially for small- and medium-sized institutions, collaboration can provide the scale and quality of resources needed to sustain cost-effective,…

Describes consortium arrangement between 11 higher education institutions in Worcester, Massachusetts. (PG)

Desscribes the Tuition Plan Consortium, a consortium of nearly 300 private colleges and universities aimed at enabling students and their families to save for tomorrow's college education at today's tuition rates. (EV)

Describes efforts by the consortium Associated Colleges of the Midwest to support interinstitutional faculty collaboration and development. Focuses on three programs: the Global Partners Project, an information literacy grant, and an academic collaboration grant. (EV)

A study investigated patterns in the characteristics, structures, budgets, administrators, and activities of multipurpose collegiate consortia over a period of 15 years. Results are compared with those of previous research on consortia, and some questions are raised regarding the visibility and viability of multipurpose consortia in higher…

The director of a college consortium must be a strong leader, whose primary duties range from providing leadership to securing resources and to clearly communicating the consortium's mission. The director must keep in mind that the consortium's work is valuable only to the degree that it eases the load on the individual member institutions and…