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An independent, coeducational, residential college founded more than 175 years ago, Albion is committed to the liberal arts tradition. Historically related to the United Methodist Church, the College is dedicated to preserving the values of the past, to serving the needs of the present and to anticipating the goals of the future.
Albion’s People and Programs
Albion’s strength is the quality of its faculty and students. The stimulating atmosphere at Albion results in large measure from its faculty, who are dedicated to teaching and scholarship in the liberal arts setting. They have distinguished credentials–95 percent of the faculty have the Ph.D. or the highest appropriate professional degree in their field. Faculty are active in scholarly research and other professional endeavors, and often integrate that work into their teaching. Albion’s students are also well qualified. Their combined SAT scores average 1160, and their ACT composite score averages 25; both rank Albion students well above the national average.
The faculty and administrative staff at Albion are deeply committed to the careful education of students and to their development as lifelong learners and as human beings. Accordingly, most classes are small (the average class size is 18), and students have ample opportunity for individual attention. Further, professors spend many hours outside the classroom in individual tutorials, and in academic and career advising.
Through the core requirement, Albion addresses the need for breadth of knowledge and understanding of various modes of inquiry. Through more than 30 departmental, interdepartmental and individually designed majors and minors, students also undertake intensive work in one or more fields within the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences or fine arts. This broad exposure to the liberal arts encourages students to think critically and creatively, to develop their powers of written and spoken expression, and to deepen their understanding of moral and ethical issues.
Beyond these departmental offerings, students have the opportunity to join one of Albion’s Institutes and Centers to obtain real-world experience and prepare for a career and to participate in a variety of interdisciplinary study programs. For further exploration and analysis of topics that interest them, they may pursue original research, with support from the Prentiss M. Brown Honors Program and the Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity.
The core curriculum, majors and minors, Institutes, Centers, and the Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity are central to Albion College’s vision for a liberal arts education in the twenty-first century. Wise choices from among these educational programs enable students to acquire the special qualifications they need for gaining entry to graduate and professional schools and for entering satisfying careers in many fields.
The College also offers curricular, residential and extracurricular programs that build a sense of community and stress opportunities for developing citizenship. On campus, the network of student organizations encourages the learning of group participation skills. The same organizations have community outreach programs that give Albion students the chance to operate as citizens of the City of Albion. Internships and off-campus programs–many conducted cooperatively with other colleges in the Great Lakes Colleges Association–involve students in regional, national and world citizenship as well.
Albion’s Setting
Albion College is located in a small community, rich in ethnic diversity, that was founded in 1835 at the “forks” of the Kalamazoo River. Located in the heart of the City of Albion, the College has an unusually attractive and well-maintained campus. Around its central quadrangle, numerous well-equipped classroom buildings, libraries and laboratories support learning and teaching. Just beyond, attractive residence halls, housing cooperatives, College-owned apartments and fraternity houses provide a variety of living arrangements for both independent and affiliated students and for small and large groups. A short walk leads to the largest of several well-groomed city parks, to the College’s theatre and athletic facilities, and to our scenic 144-acre Whitehouse Nature Center.
An Albion education, then, is a distinctive composite of people and programs. The members of Albion’s family, extended in time over more than 175 years and in space all around the globe–its students and alumni, its faculty and administration, its trustees and friends–have long attested to the value of this special blend. The achievement of Albion’s program can be measured in the success of its graduates in living richly fulfilling lives, many of them as leaders in their fields and communities.
Albion’s Accreditation
Albion College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604
Telephone: 800/621-7440
Website: www.hlcommission.org
Albion College is also accredited by these nationally recognized groups:
American Chemical Society
1155 16th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036
Telephone: 800/227-5558
Website: www.acs.org
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20036
Telephone: 202/223-0077
Website: www.caepnet.org
National Association of Schools of Music
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21
Reston, Virginia 20190
Telephone: 703/437-0700
Website: http://nasm.arts-accredit.org/
Any current or prospective student who wishes to review the College’s accreditation documents should contact the Office of the Provost.
As part of the accreditation requirements for the Higher Learning Commission, Albion College has established assessment procedures for all academic programs as well as the general education requirement. The procedures are designed to assess the academic achievement of students as a group rather than individually. All students are required to participate in all assessment activities that the College deems necessary.
Albion College is also listed as a United Methodist-affiliated institution by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee. More information may be obtained at 615/340-7399 or on the World Wide Web:www.gbhem.org/gbhem/colleg.html.
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