You may be able to take coursework from another school and count it toward your federal aid eligibility for the current or upcoming semester. Per federal regulations, we use a written agreement (consortium agreement) to coordinate courses from two or more schools so that the combined number of credits can be used to qualify for federal aid at USU. Other schools may have similar procedures.  A consortium agreement allows two or more schools to share enrollment and grading information while preventing the overpayment of federal aid.

USU Students may want to consider a consortium for the following reasons:

• A class required for graduation is not being taught at USU until later on.
• A class that would enhance a student’s degree experience is not offered at USU.
• A class that is taught online at USU is available in-person at another school.
• A student may want to take a course offered at USU from a specific professor at another school.

To qualify for federal aid, a course or courses taught at another school must meet the following criteria:

• Count toward graduation requirements at USU
• Is taught during the same semester as the other courses at USU

Consortium agreements have some limitations:

• If a scholarship requires full-time enrollment at USU, a consortium agreement will not fulfill this requirement.
• Consortium agreements cannot be used for clock-hours based courses at a technical college.
• Consortium agreements cannot be approved retroactively. If you took a course at another school in a previous semester, USU cannot set up a consortium agreement later on.
• USU cannot use your leftover federal aid to pay tuition at another school. You would be responsible for making sure the other school is paid in a timely manner.

We encourage you to reach out to your academic advisor to make sure these courses fulfill your graduation requirements at USU. After meeting with their advisor, You should contact your assigned federal aid counselor about the possibility of a consortium agreement with another school or schools. You should prepare in advance to make sure there is adequate time to connect with both schools while waiting on approvals. Please note that the majority of consortium agreements approved at USU are with the other state colleges in Utah.