Michigan Colleges Alliance

Programs: Scholarships and member services - private scholarship funds represent the area of greatest impact for our campuses, as they allow students to fulfill their education aspirations in small, teaching-oriented settings surrounded by fields of study at the center of our emerging knowledge based economy. Scholarships include michigan scholarship fund, named scholarships, independent innovators network scholarships, liberty scholarships and others. Representative examples include: mca awarded 1,198,710 to students at the 15 mca institutions studying a wide range of fields and provided additional operational and programmatic funds to member campuses.

college access and success - mca conducts a number of programs to facilitate college choice in michigan and to prepare mca students for successful careers in michigan and beyond. Examples inlcude: 1) a nationally leading collective campaign, "we are the independents", is at the center of this work. The campaign reaches students, parents, and educators to create a greater awareness of the value, affordability, and educational opportunities at mca institutions. 2) the third 90 network provides opportunities for urban high school students to participate directly (alongside mca faculty and students) in hands-on field and lab work in environmental science. The program introduces students to stem fields in an engaging format and prepares them for college success. Representative examples include: awarded 48,000 in scholarships through we are the independents campaign. Held third 90 network projects in the fall and spring with 8 detroit and grand rapids high schools, reaching some 300 students. Created partnership with national scholarship organization, sage scholars consortium. Launched partnership with google and steelcase to create a course sharing pilot program at three mca campuses.

talent development - mca develops and manages programs to prepare and retain graduates for the michigan workforce. Examples inlcude: 1) a signature concierge corporate recruiting initiative provides customized access for michigan business to possible interns and employees. 2) an annual roundtable on talent is held at the grand hotel on mackinac island, bringing over 50 corporate executives together with michigan colleges alliance leaders to collaborate on workforce development and student success. 3) student/faculty project work with michigan companies also highlights mcas talent focus. Representative examples include: held fifth consecutive roundtable on talent. Record corporate participation and sponsorship for roundtable on talent (131 attendees, with 70 companies represented and 135,000 in sponsorship raised) expanded the concierge career connection program to 15 partner companies mca students participated in stryker engineering challenge for third consecutive year. Launched center for advancing student outcomes with projects in micro- credentials, project management and faculty developement.