We Are The Independents

MCA is the only consortium in private higher education to promote its universities and colleges collectively through a dedicated campaign, demonstrating the commitment of our members to collaborative impact. WATI has become a powerful higher education resource for Michigan families. It provides guidance on college preparation, college choice, financial aid, and other useful information in the college planning process.
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Kalamazoo Promise Partnership

Beginning in 2014, MCA joined forces with the Kalamazoo Promise to expand college choice for students receiving the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship. This nationally recognized program, now in year thirteen, has granted more than $100 million in scholarship funding to deserving students from Kalamazoo. Only MCA’s 14 member institutions and Michigan public universities and community are eligible to receive Promise scholarships.

Third 90 Network

Now in its 10th year, the Third 90 Network engages MCA faculty and students across our membership in uncommon STEM learning experiences for urban high school students. Using Michigan’s great outdoors as a natural laboratory, student teams engage with MCA content leaders to bring science alive in field-based settings that include real-life lessons and experiments in biology, chemistry, environmental science.
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Independent Innovators Network

Helping to inspire emerging young entrepreneurs in Michigan, the Independent Innovators Network is a student scholarship competition based on top entrepreneurial concepts (business and social). Winning teams (students and faculty sponsors) receive generous scholarship and stipend awards and the opportunity to participate in special project management training and coaching with the Henry Ford Learning Institute. Venture funding also is available for marketable projects.
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SAGE Scholars

MCA has formed a powerful alliance with Sage Scholars to unleash a new scholarship source for students. A growing network of nearly 400 private universities and colleges nationally, the Sage consortium works with corporate partners to provide scholarship benefits to their employees and customers through a one of a kind “tuition rewards” system. MCA is working to expand this private sector college affordability strategy in Michigan and other Midwest states.

Folds of Honor Scholarship

Supporting veteran children in the most challenging circumstances, MCA has created an unprecedented new scholarship award, in conjunction with the Folds of Honor Foundation and Copper Standard. The Folds of Honor Scholarship provides “full ride” scholarship awards for children of families with a parent either disabled or killed in the line of duty. This program, offered only at MCA schools, fills a much-needed gap in America’s support of its heroes.

Midwest Roundtable on Talent

Since 2013, MCA’s annual Roundtable on Talent has brought together higher education and corporate leaders in an “Aspen Institute” setting to exchange ideas and build partnerships to prepare MCA students for success in the 21st-century workplace. Held in June at the iconic Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the now Midwest Roundtable on Talent hosts participants from more than seven states— Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska Michigan and others, with some 40 regional college and university presidents and over 60 signature companies represented.

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Concierge Career Connection

Part of MCA’s focus on talent development for the state’s workforce needs, The Concierge Career Connection is a unique program that offers a one-stop-shop for signature Michigan firms to efficiently recruit student interns and full-time employees from MCA member campuses, as well as create faculty-led projects in a host of academic disciplines.

Center for Advancing Student Outcomes

Center for Advancing Student Outcomes (CASO) is a program designed to create and support out-of-classroom career learning initiatives for students at member institutions. An innovation incubator for student career achievement, the Center was launched at the 2017 Roundtable on Talent and has gained wide campus support. Example MCA programs started with CASO support include digital badging initiatives in critical thinking and intercultural fluency, the Google Course Share Pilot, and the Harvard Business School Online collaboration.

Digital Badging Pilot in Critical Thinking

In partnership with the Washington, D.C. based Education Design Lab, MCA has piloted a new digital badge (microcredential) in student critical thinking skills. Aquinas College, Hope College, and Andrews University have participated in a cutting-edge program, in which campus and corporate teams codified and tested student skill in applying critical analysis, a hallmark of MCA schools, to real-life situations out of the classroom.

Google Course Share Pilot

In a rare collaboration with Google and Steelcase, MCA led in the development of a course share pilot program with three member campuses (Albion College, Alma College, and Calvin University). Through smart classrooms on each campus (equipped with Google video conferencing and digital whiteboard technology and state of the art room design and furniture), campuses in different geographic locations cross-register students in “real time” classroom settings, resulting in newly expanded course offerings and cost efficiencies.
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Stryker Engineering Challenge

Each year, Stryker Corporation hosts a high-profile student engineering competition. Invited campuses include such notable engineering schools as the University of Notre Dame, Purdue University, University of Michigan, Michigan Tech, and Michigan State University. Beginning in 2015, MCA joined the competition, with a team comprised of students from Hope College, Calvin University, the University of Detroit Mercy, and Andrews University. “Team MCA” has excelled in the program from the outset, finishing as runner-up in two of the past four years and in 2019, took home first place!

MCA & Harvard Business School Collaboration

MCA and Harvard Business School are collaborating on a new venture to broaden business and career education for MCA students from all majors. Working with Harvard’s online digital learning program, “blended instruction” is being offered at Adrian College, Albion College, Andrews University, Aquinas College and Siena Heights University, leveraging content from Harvard Business School Online courses augmented by experiences and instruction overseen by MCA professors. Harvard faculty also are engaged in designing and supporting new MCA courses using this format.