Competition Through Cooperation in American Higher Education July 16th, 2014 By the end of the 20th Century, a number of American colleges and universities – often in close geographical proximity – began to look for ways to cooperate. Regional college-based consortia emerged in a number of places and took a variety of forms. New relationships emerged with institutional leaders looking to move beyond the lobbying provided by the national and state-based higher education associations. Today, a number of these groups survive. Additionally, some state higher education associations have developed robust member service programs and unified research policy shops.