While the D.C. Consortium has been in existence for 44 years, the academic exchange program remains limited mostly to graduate students within the city, with few Georgetown undergraduates taking advantage of the opportunity to take classes at other area universities.

The Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area allows students from 12 universities and two colleges to cross-register for courses at all member institutions. The number of students taking advantage of the Consortium is generally equal at all District universities, according to Zach Swartz, assistant registrar and consortium coordinator at Georgetown.

Most Georgetown students choose to study at The George Washington University, American University and the University of Maryland. Seventy-three Georgetown students are enrolled in Consortium courses this fall. There have been 470 cross-registrations – the number of courses students have registered in, but not necessarily the total number of participants, as multiple students can register for the same course – since the fall of 2008, according to Swartz.

But registration at Georgetown is limited mainly to graduate students, and the primary purpose of the Consortium is to serve these students, Swartz said.

The most popular Consortium courses for Georgetown graduate students are in government, public policy, the masters in business program and linguistics, but the same is not true for undergraduates. Undergraduate cross-registrations are usually in military science, a requirement for ROTC members. Other requests are for foreign language classes not offered at Georgetown, such as sign language at Gallaudet University. But undergraduates have a difficult path to cross-registration, Swartz said.

“While undergraduate students are allowed to participate, it’s generally only permitted for juniors and seniors requesting courses that aren’t available at GU and which are determined by the student’s dean to fall into an appropriate `area of enrichment,'” he wrote in an email.

Furthermore, students are often rejected because Consortium registration occurs after courses are already closed at other schools.

“Consortium registration doesn’t take place until on or near the first day of class at most participating schools so that students are provided registration priority at their home institutions,” Swartz said. “This can result in a long wait for enrollment confirmation and frustration for students who request courses that close before Consortium registration occurs.”

Despite Swartz’s concerns, students who have taken courses at other schools did not seem to face much difficulty in navigating the process.

“It was actually an incredibly simple process – Georgetown makes it very easy for you to take Consortium classes,” Kathleen Mulvaney (COL ’11), who is currently enrolled in a Swahili course at Howard University, said in an email.

ulvaney said that because Georgetown did not offer Swahili beyond the beginner level, she wanted to explore her options at other universities. She contacted the head of the Swahili department at Howard and received a course recommendation, which she then presented to her dean. After receiving approval from Swartz, she was able to start taking the course at Howard.

Parts of the process remain unclear, however, namely transferring credits for the Consortium course.

“When I spoke with my dean at the beginning of the semester I was told that the courses would transfer and that I would receive credit for the course,” Mulvaney said. “However, one piece of information that I still am unaware of and that I would like to know is if my grade at Howard will go toward my GPA at Georgetown or if it will remain separate on my transcript.”

ulvaney said that on the whole the Consortium process had been a positive experience, as it had allowed her to explore education beyond the Hilltop.

“As far as Howard University staff and curriculum goes, I couldn’t be happier with my decision to take a course there,” she said. “For me, it has been a great experience in that it has given me the opportunity to get outside of Georgetown and meet new people.”

Students across D.C. take advantage of the program, with many students also coming to Georgetown to take classes. Mulvaney said that there are several Consortium students in her African politics and government class. According to Swartz, the primary areas of interest for students coming to the Hilltop are security studies, masters in foreign service, international affairs, government, public policy and MBA classes. The exchange between graduate classes is beneficial to all students, according to Elizabeth Griffith, an associate dean of the MBA evening program, which services both Georgetown and Consortium students.

“When a Georgetown student can take advantage of another institution’s offerings, this is really a triple win – a win for Georgetown as an institution, because we can continue to focus on offering the particular courses we are most equipped to offer, a win for the students, who can supplement their Georgetown experience to meet their unique needs, and a win for other area institutions, who can offer their own unique expertise and share this expertise with a wider audience,” Griffith said in an email.