What is a NSSE consortium?
As NSSE explains on its website, “A NSSE consortium is a group of six or more colleges or universities participating in NSSE the same administration year that want to ask students additional questions that will follow the NSSE core survey.[…] You can see the diverse functions of NSSE consortia since the survey's inception in 2000.”

How are consortia different from “comparison groups” and “systems”?
Systems and consortia are kinds of comparison groups. All consortia ask additional questions; some systems ask additional questions; ordinary comparison groups do not ask additional questions. Institutions register with systems and consortia in the fall before the NSSE administration; they select comparison groups in May, after the NSSE administration.

Comparison group. Your institution can choose up to three comparison groups. Your survey results are compared to each of these three groups. As NSSE explains, “NSSE reports display results for each institution alongside three comparison group columns. Institutions have the option to customize each column or select a recommended default group of institutions. NSSE comparison groups may be customized in several ways. Contacts may identify specific institutions from the list of all current-year NSSE participants, create the list using institutional criteria, or begin with institutional criteria, then add or remove specific institutions to refine the comparison group.” Examples of comparison groups include institutions in your geographical area, in your Basic Carnegie Classification, CHE peers, and all other schools in the nation administering NSSE that year.

System. One of your comparison groups can be a state or university system. Institutions can join a system at no additional charge. Some systems ask additional questions, while others do not.

Consortium. Up to one of your comparison groups can be a consortium. Institutions can join a consortium by paying an additional charge. Consortia ask additional questions.

Note If your institution is already participating in a system, it can participate in a consortium only if the system does not ask additional questions. To find out if your state system asks additional questions, email Chuck Paine (cpaine@unm.edu) or consortium coordinator Dan Bureau (consorti@indiana.edu).

NSSE restricts an institution to just one consortium or system that asks additional questions. They do this to prevent "survey fatigue." If students were asked to complete two additional question sets, many might feel overburdened or might give up. 
If you need clarification about a system, please contact Dan Bureau or Tony Ribera at consorti@indiana.edu.

 For more information about consortia, visit NSSE's website.