ISU is usually willing to complete consortium agreements with other accredited schools in order to help you. We can sign off as the host school for any student taking classes here while pursuing a degree from another institution. However, due to the large tracking responsibility and financial liabilities of being designated as the home school, students typically must have attended ISU full time the prior semester to have a consortium agreement started or be taking the majority of their classes at ISU. You also must be making full Satisfactory Academic Progress at both schools. Students on financial aid probation, suspension or appeal cannot have consortium agreements. Be aware that some institutions do not do consortium agreements. If a school refuses, that decision is respected and cannot be overruled. ISU also reserves the right to decline any consortium agreement on a case-by-case basis.

Requirements if Getting a Degree from ISU

Five signatures are required to complete an ISU consortium agreement. The student is responsible for full completion of the form and typically signs first, thus initiating the process. The contract should then go to the student’s Department Chair and Academic Dean who confirms the intended enrollment will be acceptable for ISU credit requirements. The Host School financial aid office then signs off agreeing they will not award any financial aid and calculates the direct costs associated with enrollment there for that term. The student then coordinates getting the form back to ISU where our Office of Student Financial Aid agrees that we will process your aid including the costs and hours at the host school.

Consortium agreements should be fully completed before the first day of the semester being covered. Some schools may need several days to complete their portion of the agreement. Take care to start the process in sufficient time to meet the deadline.

Students with consortium agreements are required to provide a copy of their class schedule and bill from the contractor school. You are also obligated to have academic transcripts sent to the home school right after the end of the semester. This is required even if you do not complete the enrollment you started at the host school, or if you don't earn the grades you had hoped there. Failure to do so could result in your being required to repay up to all the financial aid you received for that term immediately.

Requirements if Getting a Degree Elsewhere

Obtain a Consortium Agreement from your Home institution, the school your ISU credits will transfer back to towards a degree. You will be responsible for affirming that all needed paperwork is completed as required by your Home institution. ISU may sign off as a Host institution, confirming your enrollment in courses and estimating the cost of that enrollment. Your Home institution then calculates and distributes your financial aid directly to you.

You are responsible for paying ISU for all charges on time, whether or not your Home institution has completed processing of your financial aid. You must also confirm after the term of study is over that an academic transcript is sent from ISU to your Home institution.

Obviously, doing a consortium agreement is an involved and serious process. But it also is a good tool to help you have more enrollment options and receive financial aid that otherwise would be impossible to get. Please ask your Financial Aid Counselor any further questions you may have.

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