Consortium Agreement

Occasionally a student wants to enroll simultaneously at MSU and another University / College, and the student will want to combine the credits at both institutions for financial aid purposes.
It is possible to receive financial aid under these circumstances as long as certain requirements are met.

• The course(s) you take at the other institution must be a requirement of your degree program and transferable to MSU
• The course(s) you take at the other institution are not offered at MSU, or your degree completion will be significantly delayed due to course sequencing and/or prerequisite requirements for MSU courses
• You must be meet the requirements to receive financial aid per semester at MSU
• The host institution is not a quarter or clock-hour institution.

General Information

Your financial aid will be awarded by the institution from which you will receive your degree. The school from which you will graduate is the "home" institution that must process a consortium agreement with the other school, called the "host" institution.

The purpose of a consortium agreement is to ensure disbursement of the proper amount of financial aid. Consortium agreements will only be processed if they are necessary for you to receive your financial aid.
You must take enough credit hours at MSU to qualify for financial aid. If you enroll simultaneously at MSU and another school, the total registration hours between the two schools will be used to determine your financial aid eligibility.

You will be responsible for paying all program fees at the other "host" institution using the financial aid that is refunded to you by the MSU Student Accounts Office. MSU will not make payment directly to the other school.

If you receive financial aid for classes taken at another college or university, MSU must receive an official transcript of these courses, even though the grades could be detrimental to your overall grade-point average. It is your responsibility to provide an official transcript to MSU. You may have to pay transcript fees to the "host" institution.

Note: Immediately after completing the off campus class students must submit an official academic transcript to the Assistant Director for Transfer Evaluation and Articulation in Records and Registration no exceptions. In addition, it is the student's responsibility to submit a copy of the official transcript to the Associate Director of Financial Aid.

Procedures

Based on the above procedures, it is important to plan enough time for all steps to occur. The form should be provided to MSU well before the first day of disbursement for the requested term. Be sure to plan accordingly! Call the host school in advance and ask them what their procedures are for processing consortium agreements where they are the host school. Be aware that, as a consortium student, your aid payments may be delayed.
If you have any questions about the completion of the consortium agreement, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 443-885-3170.If you have questions about the disbursement of your funds please contact the Bursars office at 443-885-3108.

Speak to your advisor to ensure that the courses you wish to take at the "host" institution will transfer to your degree program here. To assist you in completing this process a CHECKLIST of items you must complete before processing the consortium agreement are below:

1. ___Must have filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the academic year of the semester              that you are using the consortium agreement.
                 EX. 2017-2018 FAFSA (FALL 2017, WINTER 2018, SPRING 2018, SUMMER 2018)
                        2018-2019 FAFSA (FALL 2018, WINTER 2019, SPRING 2019, SUMMER 2019)

2. ___Complete electronically Off-Campus Undergraduate Course Approval once you receive e-mail                                   confirmation of the approval a copy must be provided to the MSU Financial Aid Office. 

3. ___Download and print the Refund Request Form

4. ___Download and print the Consortium Agreement Form.