As part of Alma College’s three-year strategic planning process, the college is leaning in to examining the many facets of the student experience and identifying ways to elevate it.

It’s not all about the credits.

Beyond academic advancement, Alma College is dedicated to providing a wide range of personalized opportunities that contribute to the development of the whole student, and elevate their experiences. As we start a new academic year, this vision is being thoughtfully and thoroughly integrated across campus. All faculty and staff contribute to creating meaningful opportunities and experiences that set Alma apart and help students discover where they belong.

Regarding spirituality for example, even though Alma has Presbyterian roots, students looking to find spiritual support have a variety of denominations and organizations to choose from. Culture, leadership, safety, wellness, residential life, student conduct and engagement, and a sense of belonging are some other areas that offer Alma students something extra.

Dean of Students, Alice Kramer, said, There is a lot of holistic work we do around belonging. It’s not just limited to how students find their social group. It’s about creating spaces where students feel they belong, can find and be in community, and explore multiple perspectives.

Whether they are seeking to discover new cultures, connect with those who share similar interests, or explore ways to become a leader, the Belonging, Culture, and Leadership Office is here to assist them.

To help keep everyone safe, the campus safety team is engaging with new training initiatives.

Within campus housing, the staff is prioritizing the strengthening of one-on-one relationships where residents feel seen and supported.

The Alma College administration is listening to what students say is important to them. One example of this is that students said they wanted to take a class with their neighbors. Now all new students, who live on the same floor and participate in a living learning community linked to their First Year Seminar course, take a one-semester fall class together, which introduces them to transitional skills and college-level expectations. Better relationships and better outcomes are the result.

 

Students can formally and proactively pursue their leadership development with a conference-style learning opportunity once a year or by taking a leadership class. There are also an infinite number of paths to practice leadership skills in extracurricular activities such as clubs, athletics, fraternities, and sororities. An engaged student body helps students build relationships.

To support student engagement and success, all students get assigned a mentor for their first semester through the first-year guide program. This provides them with a very accessible resource to help and guide them as they get acclimated with college life at Alma. A new Student Rights and Responsibilities agenda will additionally help inform and redirect, if necessary, with a focus on helping students grow from mistakes.

It’s well known that physical health can have a big impact on every other aspect of someone’s life—socially, emotionally, and intellectually. To that end, significant resources are being invested in updating the recreation center, which will now have oversight by the Student Affairs department. There will be an interior refresh, new fitness classes, equipment, programs, and building activity offerings, plus a boosted development of intramural sports. We will give the students a more premium wellness space, said Kramer.

Students participating on Division III teams at Alma College will be getting some premium opportunities as well, both in the competitive sport performance side and in leadership.

Since he started last October, the Director of Athletics at Alma College, Dr. Phil Miller, has consulted with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). He suggested fresh differentiators in terms of experiences and listened to their input. Miller said, We are investing in things that our student athletes are asking for. This fall, with the help of our Sport Performance Director, Fletcher Roberts, we’re going to have a couple refueling stations—one at Hogan and one at the field house, for before practice or after their workout. It’s something that most other schools in our league are not doing.

Successful athletic programs at Alma are pursuing new challenges. The women’s STUNT program, for example, will now compete as an NCAA program and begin competition this coming year in the National Collegiate Championship alongside Division I, II, and III programs from across the country.

Our dance program, which is also one of our more competitive programs, found a lot of success competing at the National Dance Alliance Championship. They were thinking about how to achieve the next step so they will be competing at the Universal Dance Association championship in January 2027. It’s a different type of competition; a little more intense. They’ve had success where they were, but seeking out ways you can get even better…that’s part of elevating the student experience.

Miller explained that it’s also critical to emphasize leadership development. We want to develop our student athletes as leaders and mentors on and off the field. We’re going to do some expanded intentional programming that can help them develop into the best student leaders and athletes that they can be. We want to help grow knowledge and give students tools to benefit themselves but also so they can be a resource for others.

To enhance communication and build community, this year, Miller will personalize the process by talking with individual teams separately, as opposed to all of Alma’s athletes at once. The traditional fall Compliance Carnival was replaced with a Welcome Back event (coordinated with the help of the SAAC) where the student athletes built relationships, got introductory information, had some fun, and truly celebrated their endeavors before classes began.

Athletes and nonathletes alike will notice that throughout campus, departments are continuing to develop strategies to drive toward better student experiences.

Miller noted, At Alma, you get a chance to build legacies. You see it in the alumni who are supporters. They have passion for the programs, and the students that are coming up after them. It really runs deep here…a life-long connection. They’re watching the livestreams. They’re watching with a lot of pride.