Way More Reasons the MAC is better

ACADEMICS

DEGREE STRUCTURE - 

Other colleges let you pick your degree.  Never mind that the average student changes degree selection up to six (6) times, what about the lack of structure missing out on many more interdisciplinary learning opportunities.  It is also the reason there is a 62% graduation rate, IN SIXXXX YEARS, certainly the biggest contributing factor to economic crisis of student loan debt (see Tuition Tribe).  Additionally, it is the founder's belief, that the schools not only like but need students to go six years to help pay off large debt and/or retirement obligations - not far fetched. 

Our boutique programs are structured, planned, and designed specifically for the candidates committed to a specific degree.  You enter a program to finish it, and we make sure you are ready for success when you finish it.

Three years and you're done.

(Likely one of the most grueling three contiguous years of your life.)

Our degree specific programs are designed to optimize on as many interdisciplinary learning moments as possible - timing, location, and content from more than one subject to create more complex consideration and understanding.  For example, a course in  Early 20th Century Art in Germany, adding historical and political subjects to location and art -  to understand the formation of Dadaism in art creation.  And then add in being in Germany, seeing the art in person, and sourcing first person input on the subject.

COURSE STRUCTURE - 

Delivered.  Our courses are designed with detail and thoughtfulness.  

The work legally required (all colleges, and many courses specifically, don't do this)  is delivered to the student. 

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 accept "Cs get degrees".

Documented. We are developing 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.

Tracking the work, the growth, and the experience of the candidate, sure to impress and assuage any hesitation to hire.

CREDITS - 

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

You should know that each credit is worth 40 hours - historically classified as "the Carnegie unit". There is a legally prescribed formula for fulfilling this, and as suggested the higher education industry generally speaking does not live up to it.

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 Political Science degree students will likely take one (1) credit courses in biology and chemistry, and six (6) credits in anatomy and physiology.  

Again, diversity and practicality are our parameters.

NETWORKING - 

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

Students will be required to catalog three (3) references from each of our state and international visits.  One each for professional/educational, political, and peer classifications.

Will your child graduate with a rolodex of about 200 connections from around the world?

TIME - 

We justify our time assignments.  We assign 400 more hours required than the 4800 at other institutions.  Our three (3) year program follows a "work-week" assignment of hours.  

OUR school year is approximately 240 days a calendar year, averaging eight (8) hours of work per day.

High school students schedule 180 days of work.

Colleges schedule roughly 120 days of work.

Isn't that backwards or at least weird?

Shouldn't your child be advancing to daily work habits and circumstances?

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 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.  

CAMPUS - 

We could make fun of all the marketing materials colleges produce to make themselves appear worldly.

Our campus is the recognized 50 states, and other territories marginalized, like "D.C.".

Oh yeah, and at least 15 countries.

Your child  just spent almost all of the last four (4) years on a property proportionally "postage-stamp-sized" in comparison to Earth.

Think about the movie Good Will Hunting, when Williams challenges Damon's character about knowledge versus experience.

Why would you want to spend another four (4) years on another postage-stamp-sized piece of land?

We learn to travel to learn.

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 while we visit them for "competitions".

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

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

LEARNING - 

Reading, writing, watching and listening 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 - 

"Constanternship" is a word we've coined to describe constant internship.

Internship is not one semester, or just fourth year.  We find ways to constantly be "working our work".

For example, Tuition Tribe, is a project that will be ongoing for the first and most other cohorts.  This project and other endeavors will help establish credentials and work readiness for employment as a part of the larger portfolio of experiences.

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 incessant educational travel, only at the MAC, is essential supplement to success.

Again, 50 states plus, and at least 15 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 per year 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.

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

GRADING - 

Ok everybody grades, but do they incorporate secondary faculty review, 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.

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, not only an imperative, 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.

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

We do not accept federal loans or grants, or any other institution reliant on accreditation - inferior regulations and standards are not in alignment with the MAC or success in general.

ACCREDITATION - 

They have it, we don't, and we believe that makes us better, at least operationally and in our student-centered mission.

Interestingly, even though your college might be accredited, it is likely that not all their programs are (make sure you check).

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. 

Another form of validation will be our corporate partners, and of course post graduation success including employment.

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

You can have your accreditation, my money is on our destined results.

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 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!

OTHER (not any less important)

ADMISSIONS - 

One of our major points of differentiation will be the early option of bidding on 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.

Our other criteria will be explicit and quantifiable, to help you determine if the application process is worth your time and money.

ATHLETICS and COMPETITIONS - 

Each cohort will have a specific sport, speech and debate, and another activity like corn hole or billiards.

Golf is also a required skill and course to take at the MAC, useful for networking, and career advancement, in our humble opinion.

One of the benefits of our traveling college, is that we can source competition from institutions along our travels. Our program is designed to compete against an institution in the areas we are visiting.

The one drawback about our athletics is the lack of official games and therefore "titles" and trophies.  The founder is glad to talk your child out of that mental quicksand.

Our intention is that we face high profile teams, hopefully as many as 30 games or more per year.  We think this will help our more serious soccer players get more experience, film, and "ink", to continue any athletic endeavors after graduation.

We play to win. 

We play for community, competition, health, love of the sport, and if we are honest, we play for adoration and ego too.

The speech and debate competitions will both be curricular and extra-curricular.  This is an important skill across many sectors - essential for Political Science.

The final competition with each institution will be something more fun like corn hole or billiards.  Who doesn't like to toss a lil  corn hole?

We are excited about the long-term relationships to be formed by our host institutions and student bodies.

FOOD - 

Each student at times will be a "patrol leader" (I got Boy Scout roots), 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 community memories- how many other students across the college sector will have as many fun or interesting experiences eating

And it will certainly lessen the wasted time as students commiserate 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.

You must have sensed that by now.

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.

We log the expenses of our accommodations, returning any leftover funds - you are not paying down the building loan or expected expenditures, or having some of the funds possibly shifting from the residential department to a general fund to cover other debts, it could be a thing.

Whatever we pay in accommodations pales in comparison to the lack of value in 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?

Suffice to say, wellness is built into our programming, whether it's eating, traveling, sports, academics, and more.

Additionally, we will have appropriately qualified psychological practitioners on hand or on call.  

COSTS - 

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

Our itemized expenses include an overage allotment for unanticipated expenses or increase in cost of a thing or experience.  In those cases, any aggregate of savings in that item over the three years will be returned.

Other itemized expenses may not be refundable in the case of not finishing the program e.g. salaries category would not be refundable because our economic stability plan necessitates it, whereas some portion of the travel or food budget may be returned if a student doesn't complete the program.

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 - and that is not a line item in other colleges' budgets BUT is a necessary consideration for students and families. 

Another line item we will budget is certain travel home expectations, but not all breaks will occur or allow for travel home.

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 cheese stake establishment, or the turkey leg at Disney's Magic Kingdom, even those over-priced posh cult donut eateries.

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

To be explicit, our draft budget will likely come in at $85,000 or less per year for three years.  And we expect family expenses to be around $5-10k per year for things like orientation and forced family meet up on some extended time off opportunities. 

All our expenditures will be a catalogued open book. 

Can other institutions claim that?