Five Colleges, Incorporated: How We Collaborate

Home > About Us > How We Collaborate

Cooperation takes many forms depending on need and the imagination of those involved: ad hoc planning groups organizing an event or mini-residency, developing new curricula, solving an administrative problem; ongoing seminars exploring a scholarly interest or pedagogical concern; committees overseeing academic or administrative programs; and many others. Five College staff members are available to support all forms of cooperation, and are happy to offer advice on how to get started. Some funding is available to support collaborative projects.

The information listed below is organized into three sections: Academic Cooperation, Cooperation in Administrative Areas, and Cooperation among Student Groups.

Academic Cooperation

The Five College Lecture Fund furnishes supplementary funding for both lectures and cultural events that are conceived and planned on a cross campus basis.

Faculty Exchange furnishes an opportunity for a faculty member at one institution to teach from time to time at one of the other campuses.

Student Interchange: Students from each campus may take classes at the other campuses without additional charge. Registration procedures vary from campus to campus. An interested student should follow instructions available from the registrar’s office at the student’s home campus.

Five College Faculty Seminars, supported by Five College funding, serve as forums for scholarly exchange and discussion of pedagogical issues.

Curriculum Development: Five College programs and other cooperating groups occasionally are able to offer summer stipends to faculty members who are developing new courses in emerging fields and/or courses that will be taught collaboratively across the institutions.

Residencies: Established Five College committees and other groups may request Five College support to sponsor a residency for a visiting scholar or a joint faculty appointment.

Joint Faculty Appointments: Five College joint appointments are normally proposed the Five College deans only by established Five College groups after extensive consultation with Five College staff. They are supported from institutional contributions and funds from the Five College endowment. One of the campuses serves as the “home” for employment, reappointment, tenure and promotion decisions; teaching responsibilities are distributed among several or all of the campuses.

Departments, Majors, Certificates and Programs: Initiating a Five College program is a multi-part process.

Programs most commonly originate with a group of faculty members who share a common scholarly interest that is often interdisciplinary in nature.
Discussion with the Five College executive director or the director of academic programs is recommended as a helpful and necessary step as the group shapes its goals and lays out a plan of action.
These discussion may continue over a period of months before a formal proposal is drafted and submitted for review by the Five College Deans.
All proposals for new Five College programs must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate academic committees on each campus.

For more information, contact Nate Therien, (413) 256-8316.

Cooperation in Administrative Areas

Peer Groups of administrators and staff members in more than 40 different areas of administration meet regularly.

A Five College Administrative Fund furnishes a source of support for professional development when it involves a cross campus undertaking.

Compliance and Risk Management is headed by Elizabeth Carmichael at Mount Holyoke College. She is assisted by Stephen C. O’Neil, Insurance and Claims Specialist. Joint positions in Energy Management and Recycling were occupied until 2011.

The Five College Training and Development Collaborative provides a vehicle for ongoing professional development geared to the needs of middle and upper management.

For more information, contact Barbara Lucey at (413) 256-8316.

Cooperation for Students and Among Student Groups

The Five College Student Coordinating Board: The officers of each campus’ student government associations meet regularly to promote and facilitate cross-campus exchange among students beyond the classroom.

Meal Exchange: Students on meal plan at their home campus may eat for free when on another campus for academic or extracurricular reasons.

Free Bus Service (link opens in new window): Students enrolled at Five College campuses may ride the local bus service for free during the school year. The bus makes regular runs to each campus as well as to downtown and retail centers in the Five College area.

Student clubs, organizations and other extracurricular opportunities at each campus are open to all Five College students.

For more information, contact Kevin Kennedy at (413) 256-8316.

web site design by gravity switch, inc.