Way More Reasons the MAC is better

COURSE STRUCTURE - 

Delivered -

The work legally required to meet the Federal law is a standard detailing what portion of a credit hour is "in class" time - in a three credit course, using a 15 week typical term, the student is expected to experience 2.5 hours per week for 15 weeks, totaling 37.5 learning hours.

The concept of the Carnegie Unit, which is that each credit is equal to 40 hours, means that there should be 82.5 hours of "out of class time".  This means that your child should experience assigned out of class time, work or experience, that equals 5.5 hours per week, for 15 weeks, per class.

I contend that this standard is not met by many professors.

I contend that accreditation teams do not inspect courses to see if the professor is able to account for the out of class time.

I developed a formula that strives to reach for an ideal, the ability to account for the time assigned or experienced.

You will know that your child is being delivered the work at a standard, that is not prescribed to the institutions by regulatory bodies.  

Done -

Students do the work - must produce or participate in the learning.  Not doing it is not acceptable.  We don't allow our students to ditch assignments or class.  

Documented -

I would like to  develop proprietary software and processes to provide what the crypto-cult refers to as "proof of work", archived for transfer to a thumb-drive, as tangible demonstration of excellent employment readiness.

GRADING Related to Documented- 

Traditional grading methods of tests, confirming completion of projects, authoring papers, and presentations. 

Additionally, we will incorporate secondary faculty review and/or peer to peer grading?

These strategies help offer a diversity of judgement, and prepare for the destiny of leadership our graduates will take on.  Tracking the work, the growth, and the experience of the candidate is sure to impress, and assuage any hesitation to hire.

CREDITS - 

Our guide to degree development is "credit diversity and practicality".

For example, our science requirement will be tailored to the degree.  We don't subscribe to antiquated degree fulfillment based almost exclusively on three (3) credit ideology.

In the case of our Business and Finance Management degree, students will likely take one (1) credit courses in biology and chemistry, and six (6) credits in anatomy and physiology (A&P).

For example, biology will be focused on ways it is used to grow things for sustenance or visual enjoyment.  Chemistry will focus similarly on life use practicality, especially safety practices.  The emphasis on A/P is devoted to understand and take care of your body, focusing on physical, mental, and nutritional aspects.  Learning practices like Yoga, Qigong, Tai Chi, and the like. 

Again, diversity and practicality are our parameters - if you're going to be in business, you don't need seven credits in chemistry just to fulfill the institutional "general education courses".

NETWORKING - 

Other colleges may intimate it, or suggest it occurs, but at the MAC, it is required.

In addition to the 63 other candidates and four cohort leaders, candidates will be required to make connections with at least 40 other people from their travels, other cohort parents, internships, or other means that contribute to their post-graduation success.

Will your child graduate with a rolodex of over 100 connections?

CLASSROOM - 

Reading Thoreau's Civil Disobedience at Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

Studying climate change at Glacier National Park in Montana. Or meeting with a prominent figure like Greta Thunberg in Sweden.  

Doing these things is not a summer session or a semester away, it is essential and incessant!

At other schools you might be lucky if you don't have to sit in the same room multiple times during enrollment.

What's your classroom to study Thoreau?

Ours is better - no damn question about it.

"FACULTY" - 

Each cohort will be designed using four (4) faculty for every 64 students.  They advise, grade, lecture, lead, and support.

They will be well degreed.

We may contract with other highly qualified persons, for course development, content creation, episodic class participation, or the like.

Our faculty is present, engaged, available, and qualified. 

LIBRARIES - 

We will subscribe to an online library.

We will access libraries through other joint agreements.

We will utilize libraries from prominent colleges and universities that we may visit.

How many students have visited the Library of Congress and made use of the availability of resources there?

You can check library concerns off your list, and put it in the better than column.

LEARNING - 

Reading, writing, watching, listening, and kinesthetic are standard forms of learning.

The higher and more impactful levels of learning are...

Experiential

Emotionalized 

and Peer to Peer...

Our courses and degrees are designed with these in front of mind.

Imagine the impact of learning about gangs and organized crime in South Compton or Detroit.  Imagine how that impacts the psyche of your child.

Imagine what it means to hear the life of a young person in crime, first hand, and the ensuing group discussions or debate with their academic peers.

And then aggregate those learning experiences, with the other topics or locations visited, again and again.

INTERNSHIP - 

Students will be required to complete six internships.

Some of these, or others to be added, will be required, while some might need to be "adjusted" due to lack of ability to secure.

Janitor or housekeeping

Executive secretary

Non-chain store manager or sole proprietor

Regional or corporate department

C-level management

Hospice

"Dealer's Choice"

STUDY ABROAD and/or DOMESTIC EXCHANGE - 

Your school will advertise the availability of these choices.  They may strongly encourage or even require it.  But for how much of the time in your child's college career?

It is said, educational travel is the antidote for ignorance.

Stands to reason that the amount of educational travel, only at the MAC, is an essential contribution to success.

Again, 50 states plus, and at least 40 countries - the numbers are in our favor.

INDEPENDENT STUDY - 

Common but not always offered or encouraged.  It is a requirement at the MAC.

Approximately 100 hours during the three years are personally and professionally designed by your child, with faculty supervision.

Independent work allows the student to tailor higher level interests to their own liking and need, as well as prepare them for post graduation.

VOLUNTEERISM - 

Most schools offer or encourage, probably not as many as high schools that do, and at the MAC it is required.

Candidates will be required to perform 100 hours over the three years that are not considered program hours because internal reward is the reason for volunteering in the real world.

Study, promote, create, and participate in volunteerism, not just because it is a resume builder, but because it is right, just, and required by those of a blessed life.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS SUPPORT - 

It is the firm belief of the MAC founder that parts of the Family Educational Rights and Protections Act (FERPA) are incongruous with student success - and not a principle of success in general.

Teamwork, however is a principle of success.

And the MAC wants support from family and friends - it is required.

In a situation where your child (over18) is struggling academically or otherwise, your college can't inform you because of FERPA.

We will not allow helicoptering, but if the situation necessitates it - we want you onboard and on the team to help your child.

We refuse to ignore any human capital that can help your child be successful.

We do not accept federal or state loans or grants because inferior regulations and standards are not in alignment with the MAC, or success in general.

ACCREDITATION - 

If, for state regulations, we are required to be accredited by a recognized body, we will meet or exceed all the required elements.

However, we believe in "accreditation by validation".

We will have a litany of higher education professionals; presidents, professors, and other qualified peoples review, critique, and offer solutions that show what we are doing at the MAC is better than what is required. 

I will put our institution against any other, without fear or hesitation.

You can have your accreditation, my money is on our program and results of the candidates while enrolled and after graduation.

ADVISING - 

They advise, occasionally, maybe during class selection, maybe some sort of "check in", or related to post graduation plans.

Our advisors are present on a daily basis, intimately aware of their charges, and therefore better adept at giving support, direction, and points of improvement.

Having a designated advisor, doesn't exclude you from sourcing any employee of the MAC.

RETENTION - 

Promoting retention strategies is a recent practice, probably because not everyone stays in or at the same school, for more reasons than worth listing.

We feel they need to focus on retention as an administrative mission because they likely don't focus on appropriate candidates for enrollment, academic and non-curricular programming are not designed well enough, and because the student  relationship to school is primarily transactional and sparse.

Everything about the MAC explicitly says, come here, stay here, finish here.

Our staffing and our programming are our retention plans.

DIPLOMA - 

Even our diploma is amazing.

A diploma from "the MAC" is not a piece of paper for the wall or to be stored away.

We issue a solid gold business card sized diploma.  The college name and degree on the front, and the candidates name and graduation date on the back.

Imagine going for your interview with a solid gold diploma and a thumb-drive portfolio with everything you did archived.

This isn't rock, paper, scissors - gold beats paper - every day of the week and twice on Sundays!

Oh yeah, your diploma will likely come with a refund too - please name an institution that does that.

ADMISSIONS - 

One of our major points of differentiation will be the option of bidding for enrollment, what we refer to as "boostering" (read more on Admissions page)

That's right, you can BID TO ENROLL!

Definitely read our Admissions Page.

FOOD - 

Each student at times will be a "patrol leader" (I am an Eagle Scout), planning menus, budgeting, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and delegating.  Leaders will incorporate lessons from their Nutritional Course, input from the other seven (7) patrol members, and other sources to manifest the meals of the week.

Whether the food will be better or not is on your child that week    : )

Food is not just ingesting sustenance, 

The MAC believes it is a learning and character building moment flush with communal memories- how many other students across the college sector will have as many fun or interesting experiences eating with their peers.

And it will certainly lessen the wasted time that occurs as students commiserate about the quality of food at the meal, after the meal, and during all kinds of activities, as they do on many a campus. 

DORMS -

What dorms? We don't need no stinking dorms.

They are expensive, geo-locking, unimpressive, and not as cool as traveling to so many awesome places to sleep.

We will use a variety of living arrangements.  The most common will be camping and hosteling.

Whatever we pay in accommodations pales in comparison to the lack of value living in a dorm. 

There is no college dorm at Glacier National Park, or Disney World, or in the Grand Canyon, and a cornucopia of our other landing spots across the USA and our international countries.  

I suppose if you need group bathrooms, a roommate that's hard to get rid of,  noisy disrespectful neighbors, running water, a toilet seat, somewhat controllable room climate, and the same views everyday, well, then you definitely should not apply - in fact, please don't apply.

COMMUNITY - 

Ever feel "alone in a crowd"?

Many students suffer social difficulties after they've been handed their relationships for the last 18 years or so, and then face the gauntlet, the challenges, of college life , whether at a big or small institution.

We feel our community bonds will be significantly easier to make, nurture, and enjoy post graduation because the nature of our cohort formation.

Additionally, remember the networking educational requirement.

The patrol is your small community, you have gender community, the cohort community including faculty, and all the other personal relationships from your extensive travels.

Community is integral to mental, emotional, physical health, as well as academic and professional success.

Interdependence, where the individual and the group are reliant on each other for their success, one helping the other in a controversial "chicken and egg" philosophical debate.

WELLNESS - 

If we didn't care about wellness, how could we have created this college?

Wellness is built into the chosen candidates, and our programming, whether it's eating, traveling, sports, academics, and more.

Students will be required to provide a mental health assessment as a part of the application process, and include prescheduled counseling sessions during their enrollment.

The MAC will also have mental health practitioners on-call for candidates as needed. 

COSTS - 

If our costs are more it's because we do more, if our costs are less it's because we are smarter.

The cost of enrollment may actually decline, and result in a reduction during enrollment, or a graduation refund, because some expenses are amortized over years.  Since this is the first cohort, families will pay the upfront costs of things that will be paid down by ensuing cohorts.

Our itemized expenses include an overage allotment for unanticipated expenses or increase in cost of a thing or experience.

It is likely that our program costs less than many "tier one" schools. 

One itemized cost we have included is an allowance of $100 per week because it is not feasible for our students to take on traditional experiences of working during the summer or while at school.

Also, while communal eating is usually cheaper, we will also designate special eating opportunities for the cohort e.g. eating at a famous hot dog stand in L.A.,  or popular smoke house, the turkey leg at Disney's Magic Kingdom, combination eating and entertainment experiences in Las Vegas, hundreds of opportunities to experience international foods,, and even those over-priced posh cult donut eateries.

To be explicit, our draft budget will likely come in at $330,000 for three years.  Family expenses for things like travel to orientation or returning home are mostly the responsibility of the family.

If you don't sense the value we put on educational spending for each candidate, well at this point I shouldn't have to explain it - and won't - just move on please.

All our expenditures will be a catalogued open book. 

Can other institutions claim that?