NMC enrollment ticks up

Patti Brandt Burgess, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read

Sep. 28—TRAVERSE CITY — Enrollment for the fall semester at Northwestern Michigan College is up slightly from a year ago with 20 more students and 162 more contact hours.

It is the first time in more than a decade that the college increased students over the previous year, said Todd Neibauer, vice president for student services and technologies.

"I'm pleased that we were able to return to a positive spot after about 10 years," Neibauer said.

Enrollments peaked at colleges across the nation in 2010 during the recession that followed the financial crisis of 2008.

But the headcount of 3,298 is still down 428 and 203 students respectively from NMC's pre-COVID numbers from 2018 and 2019.

Still, with the uncertainty of the pandemic still in play, Neibauer wasn't expecting the numbers to be that good. He credits the Futures for Frontliners state scholarship and the Michigan Reconnect program for the enrollment bump. About 470 students are attending under the F4F program and about 80 under Reconnect.

Michigan residents are eligible for the F4F scholarship if they worked in an essential industry such as health care, food and agriculture, law enforcement and more at least part-time between April 1 and June 30 of 2020.

The Reconnect program provides tuition-free certificates or associate degrees in high-demand industries for people 25 and older, with the state paying tuition and fees that are not covered by Pell grants or other state assistance.

Both programs have been funded for at least another year in the state budget now awaiting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's signature.

Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA to keep the scholarship, Neibauer said. Federal aid has the same requirements, but has some leeway, he said.

"So we've been working hard with them," he said.

Students also received $5.2 million in COVID federal relief funds since April 2020, said NMC Pres. Nick Nissley.

A mask mandate is back in place, and the college had two vaccine clinics for students, both of which were poorly attended, he said.

But the college is fully operational, with the campus library, fitness center and Hawk Owl Café all open and in use, Nissley said. More than 200 students signed up for meal plans at the Hawk Owl, compared to 60 last year.

"In general you're seeing an uptick in the energy around campus," he said.

In other business the board:

* Authorized a contract with iXsystems for replacement of the storage area network system at a cost of $489,599. The system was last replaced about six years ago, Neibauer said. The new system has more storage capacity and is expected to last up to six years, he said. iXsystems submitted the lowest bid of five.

* Authorized a contract with August Schell Enterprises for a capacity increase and license extension of the Security Log Management System at a cost of $40,459.

* Replacement of the voicemail system by BSB Communications at a cost of $56,149.

* Purchase of a drone from Unmanned Vehicle Technologies at a cost of $55,141. The company submitted the lowest bid of three. The purchase includes cameras and sensors and will be used in the Unmanned Aerial System training program.