The author reports on how colleges could work together more closely in areas like the library, the colleges' technology infrastructure, human resources and payroll, and, ultimately, their academic programs. Higher education has some famous collaborations--the best-known among them are the Claremont Colleges, where seven institutions, each with a different emphasis, occupy roughly a square mile in Claremont, California. The colleges share library services, some academic programs and student-activity programs, and various administrative functions, like mail services, maintenance, and human resources. There are other well-known partnerships, like the Five Colleges of Massachusetts, comprising Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; or the consortium that embraces Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges. But in academics and course offerings, colleges have traditionally been reluctant to work together for fear of diluting their particular academic identities. Amid financial pressures and popular skepticism about the value of liberal-arts education, however, some colleges have little choice.