The Academic Pathway Study (APS) research program within National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) ran from 2003-2010. It amassed a collection of longitudinal as well as cross-sectional data sets, of varying research method types and formats, from four different primary cohorts that included over 5,300 subjects at over 25 geographically distributed sites. The APS research team was similarly dispersed, at an initial four academic institutions that eventually grew to over eight schools. This diverse research team was co-organized along two major lines of responsibility, affiliated institutions and research methods. Because the team was so geographically distributed and the collection of data so large and heterogeneous, APS leadership recognized early on in the project that effective management of data collection, sharing, and reuse would be essential to the success of their collaborative research efforts. Many observations, lessons learned and reflections have emerged from those experiences with APS cross-institution data sharing and reuse--from features of collaboration tools, to Institutional Review Board (IRB) strategies, to guiding protocols and policies.