Fiske Guide 2024 emphasizes ‘hands-on experience’ of Albion

July 11, 2023

Albion College “emphasizes the importance of mixing learning with hands-on experience, particularly when it comes to community engagement and service,” according to the 2024 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

Fiske is the best-selling guide to top colleges, making it an honor to be included. For 40 years, the Fiske Guide to Colleges has featured more than 300 profiles of four-year colleges and universities. Albion College, featured for the second consecutive year, is one of only six Michigan colleges and universities to be profiled.

Albion students are quoted throughout the profile on topics related to an engaged and helpful faculty, experiential learning and opportunities to make an impact. The guide notes 60% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and professors focus on both academic performance and emotional well-being of their students.

“The professors at Albion put the students first in every situation,” one senior said.

In emphasizing the significant impact of faculty and staff, the Fiske profile also cites the importance of the Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity, or FURSCA, the honors program and the First-Year Seminar program.

FURSCA pairs students with faculty mentors to develop and carry out research and other creative projects. The First-Year Seminar program is a core requirement for graduation and offers students a wide variety of courses.

Albion’s profile includes a focus on well-established centers and institutes and states that “future doctors, lawyers and businesspeople are well-served.” The guide also highlights Albion’s interest in developing civic leaders through the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service and spotlights the newly created School for Public Purpose and Professional Advancement, which includes the recently created James L. Curtis Institute on Race and Belonging.

“At Albion College, professors are accessible and interested, academics are challenging without being overwhelming and students feel supported and motivated,” the guide states. “At the same time, increasing efforts to connect students with real-world learning and service opportunities are garnering more applications from more diverse groups.”