If you are going to be taking classes at another domestic school while still enrolled as a student at the University of Iowa, you may be able to complete a consortium to receive financial aid for credit hours at both the University of Iowa and the other school (host school). 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 federal financial aid.

The below requirements must be met to qualify to complete a consortium agreement:

  • The earned credit hours at the host school must transfer to Iowa and apply toward your degree requirements.
  • You must be enrolled for less than 12 hours (undergraduate students) or less than 9 hours (graduate students) at Iowa.
  • If you are taking community college classes, you cannot complete a consortium agreement if you have already transferred 60 community college credit hours.

Note: Most scholarships require full-time University of Iowa enrollment. We recommend you speak with a financial aid advisor about your scholarships before you plan to complete a consortium agreement. 

Procedures 

  • Undergraduate students:
    • complete the consortium agreement in Docusign
  • Graduate students:
    • Complete the PDF icon Graduate Transfer Evaluation formOnce all the appropriate signatures are obtained then submit the form to the Office of Student Financial Aid.  You can fax the form to 319-335-3060 or email it as an attachment to financial-aid@uiowa.edu or stop by the office at 2400 UCC.
  • Professional students:
    • Contact your college to see if a consortium agreement is an option.
  • You must complete a separate consortium agreement for each term that you register at another school. The consortium agreement will only cover classes for which you have already registered.  If you plan to attend the other school for an academic year, you will have to process one consortium agreement for the fall term and another agreement after you have registered for spring classes.
  • Deadline:  If you will enroll simultaneously at The University of Iowa and another institution and are receiving federal grant money, you must complete the consortium process no later than the University of Iowa's last day to drop individual courses that will have an impact on your tuition and fee assessment. This typically occurs the second week of classes during the fall and spring semesters and after the first week of classes during summer session. For loans, you have up to the last week of classes to complete the consortium process. We cannot create or increase a loan after the last day of classes for that semester. We recommend you complete the consortium agreement form at least two weeks in advance of the deadline.

Information

  • Your financial aid will be offered by the institution from which you will receive your degree. If you plan to enroll simultaneously at UI and another institution, you should apply for financial aid at the school from which you expect to graduate. 
  • After the consortium agreement is processed, the Office of Student Financial Aid will contact the Registrar's Office and request they register you in either 6998:0001, Undergraduate Transfer, or 6997:0001, Graduate Transfer, for the number of credit hours that will transfer from the other school.
  • If there are any past-due charges on your U-Bill or other restrictions on your registration, you will need to remove those restrictions before the Registrar's Office will register you for the transfer course(s).
  • The University of Iowa will not send any payments to the other school. You will be responsible for paying any program fees/bills at the other institution. You may use financial aid funds that are refunded to you by the University of Iowa to pay the host school.
  • If you receive financial aid funds for classes approved by this consortium agreement, after you complete the course(s), it is your responsibility to provide an official transcript to the Office of Admissions. You will not be permitted to register for any upcoming sessions at The University of Iowa until the official transcript is received. If you have early-registered for a subsequent semester and the official transcript is not received in a timely fashion, your early registration will be voided.
  • It is possible to be employed at the University of Iowa under part-time hourly employment while under a consortium agreement.