The Financial Aid Consortium: Rationales and Best Practices for their Establishment between Community Colleges and Public Universities

The financial challenges facing college students in the U.S. are daunting. The majority of these students are incurring substantial debt during their studies. For many this likely debt level is sufficient to cause them to forgo college, while for others it leads them to drop out before completing a degree. This financial strain places a premium on efforts that the student can take to economize. One of the most substantial ways that the students can economize is through the inclusion of a community college in their plans of study. Consequently, economizing requires the inclusion of multiple colleges and the courses needed to be taken at different institutions seldom fits neatly into full-time semesters. Recent regulatory changes have created an opportunity for institutions to eliminate this type of financial strain through the strategic cooperation of a financial aid consortium.