'Top 10' Numbers to Know About NMU

Perhaps it has happened to you at the grocery store, restaurant or coffee shop: a community member asks you a general question about Northern. It might be related to enrollment, or how many people are on the university's payroll, or how many academic programs NMU offers. It can be challenging to keep up with the ever-changing data, but here are some current, rounded figures that might be helpful to faculty and staff in future conversations. They represent the "Top 10 Numbers to Know About NMU":

• About 9,500 students enrolled;
• About 2,000 are freshmen;
• About 8,400 students – 90 percent of the student body – are full-time undergraduates;
• About 2,600 students – a little more than 25 percent of the student body – live on campus; 2,300 students live in the residence halls and 300 are in university apartments;
• The male-female ratio is almost 50-50, with women having a slight edge (female 54 percent, male 46 percent);
• The average class size is 25-30 students;
• There are about 1,100 NMU employees;
• There are just more than 300 faculty members;
• There are about 200 academic programs, and about the same number of student organizations; and
• NMU’s graduation rate is 50 percent, which is about the same as the national average for comprehensive universities.

If you are reporting to the state, media, accreditation body or other official groups, specific numbers can be found at the NMU Common Data Site or by contacting Paul Duby (Institutional Research).

Here are some answers to other frequently asked questions:

Question: Is NMU the largest employer in Marquette County ?

Answer: No, NMU is third, behind Marquette General Health System and Cleveland Cliffs.

Question: How old is NMU?

Answer: Established in September 1899, NMU is 105 years old this year.

Question: What is NMU’s general fund budget?

Answer: About $80 million (base budget); NMU’s general fund budget has decreased by $13 million since March 2003.

Question: What is the student-faculty ratio?

Answer: Depending on how you define faculty (include adjuncts, etc.) and students (full- and part-time), it is about 20:1.

Question: How many varsity sports teams?

Answer: 13 (5 men’s and 8 women’s teams)

Question: What’s the number of NMU alumni?

Answer: A little more than 50,000.