News Releases

Alma College Among 711 U-CAN Participants

U-CAN, a voluntary consumer information initiative that includes Alma College and is coordinated by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), has grown to 711 institutions.

Since NAICU unveiled U-CAN — http://www.ucan-network.org — in September 2007 with 600 private colleges and universities on board, the number of participating institutions has grown by 19 percent.

NAICU has 953 member schools, which enroll 85 percent of all students attending private colleges and universities in America.

U-CAN, the acronym for University and College Accountability Network, is a Web-based college search tool that gives students and families comparative data to help them when making a decision on which college to attend. Data include tuition trends, student costs broken out by category, admission and graduation rates, average student aid packages, average debt at graduation, and more.

With a design driven by consumer focus groups, the U-CAN site has been lauded by students, parents, college admissions counselors and policymakers for its rich and consumer-relevant information and colorful, user-friendly format. Since U-CAN went live, more than 358,000 users have visited the site, viewing more than 850,000 pages.

In mid-September 2008, NAICU will launch U-CAN 2.0. The improved site will provide guidance on how to prepare academically and financially for college, find the right fit, and navigate the admissions and financial aid processes. NAICU is exploring the development and addition of a new element that would allow consumers to see how colleges are spending their tuition dollars.

NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. Member institutions include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, art, and other professions.

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Since 2010, Alma College has added new majors in anthropology, new media studies, biotechnology, health care administration and environmental studies. The College also has completed several campus enhancements, including the Hogan Center, Art Smith Arena, Eddy Music Center and College Corner Coffee and Books.

 

Student Profile

Josh Minshall

Josh Minshall
Graduation: 2013
Major: French

Some people think French is the language of snoots and snobs. Others assume it’s only good for impressing dates. To Holly senior Josh Minshall, the language of love is “100-percent awesome sauce.”

“I’ve been taking French since 10th grade,” he says. “A lot of my friends took Spanish because they thought French would be too hard, but I stuck with it. I feel like I have a real knack for the language, and I speak it every day.”