Consortium Information 

Charter Oak State College allows students to take courses at eligible Title IV institutions throughout the United States. In order for these classes to be considered for financial aid, an approved consortium agreement must be in place between COSC and the visiting school at least *14 days before the start of the COSC semester. 

Under a consortium agreement, COSC is considered to be the student's home institution and is responsible for processing financial aid.  The visiting school, also known as the host institution, is responsible for certifying enrollment status, providing course information, and tuition and fee costs.

Listed below are guidelines that apply to all students interested in participating in a consortium agreement. 

Students must:

• Be matriculated (enrolled in a degree seeking program at COSC only).
• Comply with all COSC's institutional and financial aid  policies (i.e., satisfactory academic progress, disbursement schedules, institutional and Return of Title IV refund policies).
• Students must also comply with the hosts institutional polices and procedures.
• Make payment arrangements, at the time of registration, at the host institution. This will ensure that classes will not be dropped for non-payment.
• Purchase books and course materials (book vouchers are not available for non-COSC classes).
• Immediately notify Charter Oak's Office of Financial Aid of changes in enrollment status at the host institution (i.e., withdrawal, drop).
• Request an official academic transcript within 21 days of completing the consortium term.
• Not accept financial aid from the host institution and report all outside financial aid resources to the Office of Financial Aid.
• Allow COSC to discuss enrollment, financial aid, and any academically related issues with the host institution.
• Repay unearned portions of financial aid as a result of a return of Title IV calculation or if credits are not transferred back to COSC.
• Complete a new consortium agreement each semester.

Other important points:

While COSC offers students the flexibility of taking consortium courses, some restrictions do apply and include:

• Consortium agreements will not be processed for students who have been subject to a Return of Title IV (R2T4), processed by the Office of Financial Aid, during a previous consortium semester.
• Consortium agreements cannot be processed for courses taken at non-standard term  or clock hour schools.  Typically, these programs cross over several academic years which the College cannot align to its financial aid award year schedule.
• Not all Title IV schools participate in the consortium process and the College cannot process financial aid without a completed consortium form.
• The Office of Financial Aid is the final authority on the approval of a student's consortium agreement for financial aid purposes. 

The College's consortium agreement can be found by logging into ACORN.  At the "the Financial Aid" tab click on  "Welcome to COSC - My Financial Aid"  and access "forms" to download the agreement. 

* As previously stated, all consortium forms must be received and processed by the Office of Financial aid 14 days before the start of the semester.  Forms will not be available for download 14 days prior to the start of COSC classes.