About the Five College Consortium Five Colleges, Incorporated is an independent non-profit organization with 40 employees that is based in a 19th century home in downtown Amherst, with offices on each of our member campuses. In this section you’ll find information about what we do and who we are. For more than 50 years, the Five College campuses have collaborated to achieve as a group things they can’t achieve individually. You’ll find examples of these achievements on this page and throughout this website; you can also read an overview of the various administrative structures, funding sources, and processes used to initiate and sustain Five College agreements and programs in our Introduction to Five Colleges, Incorporated. But something that the numbers and web pages may not show about Five Colleges is the value that our constituencies--students, faculty, staff, and community members--receive from coming together, learning from each other, and striving toward shared objectives. Five Colleges serves as a fulcrum that leverages the collective power of our constituencies to accomplish common goals. Related Pages Introduction to Five Colleges Campus Admissions Five College Committees News & Events Five-Campus Directory Five College Staff Contacts Racial Justice & Equity/DEI Programs Employment Governance Risk Management For FCI Staff Libraries Student Opportunities From our Executive Director Welcome to the website of the Five College Consortium! As you’ll find when you explore these pages, Five Colleges exists to help our member campuses experiment, take risks, and save money. But our overriding goal is to build a robust community in which to live, work, and study. We do this by bringing people together: professors, students, administrators, local leaders, even our college presidents. Some of our efforts are well-known, such as open cross-registration and a free bus service. But we also help the campuses pursue goals behind the scenes, such as by building a 55-mile fiber optic internet network, managing a joint library repository, and operating a shared risk management office, to name just a few examples. And now, as our five remarkable institutions wrestle with issues unlike anything they’ve seen in a century, collaboration is more important than ever. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve convened cross-campus teams to share news and information on the coronavirus, on remote instruction and vaccine requirements and reopening protocols. These teams have also been meeting with hospital directors, business owners, legislators, and epidemiologists. But over that same time, the very collaborations that keep this consortium going--of faculty members facilitating academic programs, of administrators sharing their work in admissions, development, and IT--have continued. Evidence of all this consortial effort can be found in these pages. We hope they inform you of the great work of the Five College campuses, and inspire you to reach across campus or community boundaries to engage with your neighbors. Keep safe, and stay connected. Dr. Sarah Pfatteicher On this Page Strategic Planning FAQs Mission Statement Our Member Institutions The member institutions of the Five College consortium include top-ranked liberal arts colleges and a Division I research university; a young, unconventional campus and two of the oldest womens' colleges in the country. With the campuses linked by a free bus service, students are never more than a half hour from arriving at another campus to take a class, join an intramural club or socialize. Amherst College Hampshire College Mount Holyoke Smith College UMass Amherst Strategic Planning at Five Colleges The Five College Strategic Roadmap is a living document developed by our executive director, working with the Five College Board of Directors and other key leadership groups. The Roadmap serves as a tool to help us identify, understand, and act on challenges and opportunities as they arise. The original Roadmap was built over the 2018-19 academic year and officially adopted by the Board of Directors in September 2019, with the intent that it be revisited at the start of each academic year. FCI Strategic Roadmap FAQs Visiting Where can I find directions to the Five Colleges office and its member campuses? I'm coming in from outside the area; is it possible to see all five campuses in one day, including tours and interviews? How close are the campuses to one another? Applying May I apply to more than one college, or will that hurt my chances of getting into one? If I take courses on several campuses, where will my degree be from? I'm retired and I've recently moved into the area; can I take classes? See All FAQs Mission Statement Five Colleges, Incorporated, sustains and enriches the excellence of its members -- Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts Amherst -- through academic and administrative collaboration. The consortium facilitates intellectual communities and broad curricular and co-curricular offerings, affording learning, research, performance, and social opportunities that complement the distinctive qualities of each institution. Five Colleges®, Incorporated 97 Spring Street, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 542-4000 Social Facebook Twitter YouTube SmugMug Quick Links About the Consortium Employment Governing Committees Log In Member Institutions Amherst College Hampshire College Mount Holyoke College Smith College UMass Amherst Login Non-Discrimination Policy Five Colleges, Incorporated (FCI) is committed to providing equal access and opportunity in employment and education to all employees and students. In compliance with state and federal law, FCI does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, genetic information, sex, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, ancestry, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected status under federal, state or local law. A member of the Association for Collaborative Leadership. ©2021 Five Colleges®, Incorporated