Five Colleges, Incorporated: How to Collaborate

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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 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 faculty at one institution to teach from time to time at one of the other campuses.

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 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 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. Hosted by one of the campuses, teaching responsibilities are distributed among all five.

Departments 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 at (413) 256-8316.

Cooperation in Administrative Areas
Peer Groups of administrators and staff 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.

There are currently three joint positions in administration: Risk Management headed by Elizabeth Carmichael at Mount Holyoke College, Recycling headed by Roger Guzowski at Hampshire College, and Energy Management headed by Todd Holland.

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 Marie Hess at (413) 256-8316.

Cooperation Among Student Groups
The Five College Student Coordinating Board was recently reformulated by the officers of the student government associations to promote and facilitate cross campus exchange among students beyond the classroom.

Student clubs and organizations located at each campus are open to all Five College students with similar interests.

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

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