Founded in 1996, Colleges of the Fenway (COF) is a collaboration between five neighboring Boston-based higher education institutions. COF was created with the mission of adding value to student academic and social life while seeking innovative methods of containing the costs of higher education. Collectively, the institutions represent more than 12,000 undergraduate students, comprising 12.4% of the total Boston population of undergraduate students attending four-year institutions. As the landscape of higher education continues to evolve, we remain collaborators and partners in innovating to support the success of our member institutions.
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Student Activities and Programs
COF brings shared student experiences such as:
- Intramural Sports
- Recreation & Wellness
- Performing Arts
- Clubs and Student Organizations
What We Do
Academic
Programs
COF expands educational benefits through:
- Global Educational Opportunities (Geo Center)
- Cross-Registration
- Collaborative academic minors
Staff & Faculty
Programs
Employees at COF institutions benefit from:
- Shared training and develop programming
- Affinity and identity groups
- Community networking events
Joint Contracts
COF helps our institution realize cost savings through joint purchasing such as shared:
- Dining services
- WiFi network
- Health services
- Administrative software licenses
Emergency Management
COF provides institutions with joint emergency preparedness and support through:
- Community emergency trainings
- Response best practices
- Collaborative between campus safety offices
We create innovative growth opportunities through intentional, robust collaboration to enrich the experience of all our students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae
- Catalyze and Support Justice and Equity Initiatives
- Create a Shared COF Student Experience
- Develop Joint Health and Wellness Initiatives
- Be the “Consortium of Choice” for Faculty and Staff
- Prioritize Collaboration
- Intramural sports and wellness classes
- Recreation; trips and events
- Performing arts ensembles; dance, theater, orchestra, chorus, and jazz band
- Student clubs & organizations
- Annual COF Block Party
- Spirit week events
- Cross-registration
- COF minors & minors at other institutions
- Shared dining halls
-
Shared health services
- Training & Development: Engage with training sessions and professional development programs, meet colleagues across the consortium, and advance your professional skillset.
- Events & Networking: Attend annual networking and community events such as the COF MLK Breakfast, Faculty and Staff of Color, Friends and Allies Coffee Hours, or professional talks in areas such as sustainability and teaching and learning excellence.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Tap into your institution’s EAP for support via counseling sessions, financial advising, and more.
- Cross-Registration for Employees: Take courses across the COF to further your skillset or prepare for continued education!
- Museum Access: Take advantage of free entry into the MFA and Isabella Stewart Gardner museums using your employee ID
- Sports & Recreation, Performing Arts: Engage with the COF community by joining an intramural team, going to a yoga class, or by performing with one of our many music ensembles!
Colleges of the Fenway is funded by our five member institutions and is governed by the five institution presidents as well as the COF Coordinating Council. Much of our work is guided by collaborative committees with cross-institutional representation.
- COF Organizational Chart and Governance Structure
- COF Coordinating Council Membership: (find your representative!)
- COF Standing Committees: Click the link to view committee charges and membership by institution.
- Cross-Institutional Events: We encourage institutions to open events and programming to your COF colleagues. We are happy to market your event in our communications. Please fill out this form to promote your event across COF.
- COF Staff Contacts: Not finding what you’re looking for? Reach out to one of our staff members to learn more.
The COF Joint Procurement initiative is designed to support COF members by optimizing the selection, acquisition, and use of goods and services. Through strategic sourcing, members maximize their purchasing power to secure the best value while leveraging collective expertise in vendor negotiations.
2022 – 2023 Total Consortium Cost-Savings = $9,561,009
- 59 joint outside contracts
- 100+ unique vendors
A sample of our joint purchasing agreements includes, but is not limited to:
- All One Health – Employee Assistance Program
- Anthology Blackboard Ally
- Automatic Laundry Services
- Casella – Waste Recycling Organics Collection and Disposal Services
- COFAN – Colleges of the Fenway Area Network Internet Connection
- Creative Services Inc – Background Check Services
- Fiducient Investment Advisors – Retirement Investment Advising
- Fred C. Church – Property and Liability Insurance
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – Membership
- LTD Life Insurance
- Markley Group – IT Services
- NE-HERC – Faculty / Staff Recruitment
- Prestige Vending – Snack/Soda Vending Services
- ProPivotal – Temporary Services
- Qualtrics – Institutional Survey Software
- Rave – Emergency Notification System
- RentaCrate – Moving Services
- Sprint Tax – Tax preparation services for international students
- Transact Campus – The Fenway Card