# Five College Consortium > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Five_College_Consortium > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Five_College_Consortium.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_College_Consortium > Source revision: 1353491981 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Not to be confused with the [Claremont Colleges](/source/Claremont_Colleges), a consortium in California often referred to as the 5Cs. The **Five College Consortium** (often referred to as simply the **Five Colleges**) comprises four [liberal arts colleges](/source/Liberal_arts_colleges_in_the_United_States) and one [university](/source/University) in the [Connecticut River](/source/Connecticut_River) [Pioneer Valley](/source/Pioneer_Valley) of [Western Massachusetts](/source/Western_Massachusetts): [Amherst College](/source/Amherst_College), [Hampshire College](/source/Hampshire_College), [Mount Holyoke College](/source/Mount_Holyoke_College), [Smith College](/source/Smith_College), and the [University of Massachusetts Amherst](/source/University_of_Massachusetts_Amherst), totaling approximately 38,000 students.[1] They are geographically close to one another and are linked by a frequent bus service.[2] The [consortium](/source/Consortium) was formally established in 1965, but its roots lay in cooperative efforts between the oldest four members of the consortium dating back to 1914.[3] ## History In 1914, Massachusetts Agricultural College (now UMass), Amherst, Mount Holyoke, and Smith joined International YMCA College (now [Springfield College](/source/Springfield_College_(Massachusetts))) to form the Committee on University Extension of the Connecticut Valley Colleges, a joint [continuing education](/source/Continuing_education) program for the Pioneer Valley. In later years, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and MAC—later known as Massachusetts State and UMass—increased their collaboration, culminating in the formation of an inter-library loaning program in 1951, and a joint astronomy department in 1959. Finally, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith and UMass incorporated the **Four College Consortium**, which became the Five College Consortium when Hampshire College was founded in 1965, and, in 1970, admitted its inaugural class.[3] The five colleges operate both as independent entities as well as mutually dependent institutions. The mission of the consortium is to support long-term forms of cooperation that benefit the faculty, staff and students of the five colleges. Shared academic and cultural resources are the primary initiative of the consortium. This means that students at each of these schools are permitted and encouraged to take classes at the other colleges (through "cross-registration") at no additional cost to the student.[4] Student groups and organizations often draw participants from all five campuses and several academic programs are run by the Five Colleges (for example: [astronomy](/source/Astronomy), [dance](/source/Dance), some foreign languages, and [women's studies](/source/Women's_studies)[5]). The colleges also participate in an [interlibrary loan](/source/Interlibrary_loan) program, allowing students, staff, and faculty to take advantage of all five campuses' collections.[citation needed] The [Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory](/source/Five_College_Radio_Astronomy_Observatory) was founded in 1969 by the Five College Astronomy Department. Together, the Five Colleges operate [WFCR](/source/WFCR) (Five College Radio), an [NPR](/source/National_Public_Radio) member station operating at 88.5 [MHz](/source/Hertz) in the [FM](/source/Frequency_modulation) band.[citation needed] In 2019, [Hampshire College](/source/Hampshire_College) and [UMass](/source/University_of_Massachusetts_Amherst) briefly considered a merger due to the former's financial difficulties, but this never went through.[6] In 2026, administrators of Hampshire College announced that it would be closing after the fall 2026 semester.[7] ## Bus transportation The [Pioneer Valley Transit Authority](/source/Pioneer_Valley_Transit_Authority) (PVTA) provides free daily intra-campus bus service to students, staff, and faculty during the school year. The buses—most of which are operated by [UMass Transit](/source/University_of_Massachusetts_Transportation_Services), with the B43 and B43E operated by Valley Area Transportation Company (VATCo)—run on a frequent schedule, allowing car-free travel to classes, social events, and local shopping areas.[8] This service is funded primarily through a contract with the member institutions.[9] ## See also - [Cooperating Colleges of Greater Springfield](/source/Cooperating_Colleges_of_Greater_Springfield), a local association of colleges which often collaborate with Five College institutions - [Museums10](/source/Museums10), a collaboration of several local museums run by the Five Colleges - [UMassFive College Federal Credit Union](/source/UMassFive_College_Federal_Credit_Union) ## References 1. ["Five College Consortium"](http://www.fivecolleges.edu/). *www.fivecolleges.edu*. Retrieved 2018-03-13. 1. ["Fleet Vehicles - Transportation Services - UMass Amherst"](http://www.umass.edu/campus_services/transit/index.html). *www.umass.edu*. Retrieved 2018-03-13. 1. ["50th Anniversary | www.fivecolleges.edu"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181004104057/https://www.fivecolleges.edu/consortium/50th-anniversary). *www.fivecolleges.edu*. Archived from [the original](https://www.fivecolleges.edu/consortium/50th-anniversary) on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-03-13. 1. www.gravityswitch.com, Gravity Switch, Inc -. ["Five College Interchange Five College Interchange"](http://ualc.umass.edu/five_college_interchange/). *ualc.umass.edu*. Retrieved 2016-04-21. 1. [Common Departments and Programs](https://web.archive.org/web/20030430174217/http://www.fivecolleges.edu/academic_programs/academprog_deptprog.html) from Five Colleges, Inc. 1. Glaun, Dan. ["Hampshire College sought partnership with UMass Amherst before announcement of financial struggles"](https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/02/hampshire-college-sought-partnership-with-umass-amherst-before-announcement-of-financial-struggles.html). *MassLive*. MassLive. 1. Schulman-Hall, Juliet (April 14, 2026). ["Hampshire fought for years to survive. Now the college reckons with its end"](https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2026/04/hampshire-fought-for-years-to-survive-now-the-college-reckons-with-its-end.html). *MassLive*. Retrieved April 14, 2026. 1. ["Five College Bus System"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200625195725/https://www.fivecolleges.edu/students/buses). *Five College Consortium*. Five Colleges, Inc. Archived from [the original](https://www.fivecolleges.edu/students/buses) on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-06-22. 1. ["Five Colleges, PVTA, Towns Reach Agreement to Increase Bus Payments"](https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/five-colleges-pvta-towns-reach-agreement). *News and Media Relations*. University of Massachusetts Amherst. 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2020-06-22. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.fivecolleges.edu/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Five College Consortium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_College_Consortium) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_College_Consortium?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.