Methods and apparatus for processing channel quality information (CQI) and scheduling resources subject to cooperative resource allocation based on the CQI are provided. To convey the CQI for protected/unprotected subframes in a single report, a new vector CQI format may be utilized. Two alternatives for CQI processing this vector format and the advantages of each are described. In the first alternative, a single entry from the CQI vector is selected for processing by a downlink scheduler and/or other media access control (MAC) blocks (e.g., a PHICH, DCI power control, and/or PDCCH scheduler). In the second alternative, the selection from the CQI vector is made on a per-subframe basis, and both the subframe and the selected CQI element are processed by the downlink scheduler and/or the other MAC blocks. In this manner, better scheduling decisions may be made using the CQI vector.