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Higher Education House Appropriations Subcommittee

Northern Michigan University response
to House Higher Education Appropriation Subcommittee questions
Dr. Leslie Wong, President
March 6, 2007

1.   What measures has your university taken to expand access to your AA and BA programs. In which areas/fields are you expanding?

Northern Michigan University has a long-standing tradition of providing access for students of the region to postsecondary education ranging from the diploma and certificate level (11), to degree programs at the associate level (27), baccalaureate level (136) and master’s level (30). We are currently developing new program offerings in the fields of radiography (AS), respiratory therapy (AS) and loss prevention (BS). Most of our new programs are in direct response to a regional, state or national need.

2.  What efforts has your university taken to recruit and graduate adults seeking to complete post-secondary credentials?

Through its extensive network of academic programs, Northern Michigan University serves a wide range of students from those still enrolled in high school through older adults seeking employment retraining or pursuing a new career option.

To cite only a few other examples, NMU has recently begun to offer an on-line bachelor’s degree completion program in nursing, NMU provides professional development for current law enforcement officers through the Public Safety Institute, and offers both technical skill upgrading and management/leadership programs for the local employees of Cleveland Cliffs Inc., a worldwide mining company. We are also currently working with Marquette General Health System to jointly offer associate degree programs in the fields of radiography and respiratory therapy. We also offer various bachelor’s degree and master’s completion programs at the Upper Peninsula’s community colleges and other off-campus sites as needed to meet regional demand. We are now offering “hybrid” programs at the master’s level in education, where teachers spend a small portion of a course on campus, then complete the course on-line.

Each November for the past two years, Northern has also been an active participant in Governor Granholm’s “Return to Learn” initiative, offering special “Return to Learn” events to that enable NMU faculty and staff to meet with and assist adults interested in beginning or continuing their education.

3.  What unique role does your institution play in your community?

Marquette County is the largest in geographical size in the state. It has 65,000 residents (not including NMU students who are not permanent residents) of whom 21,000 live in the City of Marquette. With a fall enrollment of almost 9,700 students, Northern Michigan University clearly serves as an economic engine in the city, county and Upper Peninsula region. NMU functions as a quasi-land grant institution because it is the primary source of access to higher education for the residents of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as the primary provider of an educated workforce that contributes much of the infrastructure of the educational, health-related and social/cultural fabric of this region.

To accomplish this mission, NMU offers a staggering variety of undergraduate programs in order to provide postsecondary opportunities to the full ability spectrum of high school graduates. In fact, NMU attempts to provide an opportunity to succeed to virtually every applicant from the central Upper Peninsula, ranging from basic jobs training and technical skill enhancement to an array of academic degree programs. From an opportunity perspective, NMU currently offers 11 certificate and diploma programs, 27 associate programs, 136 baccalaureate programs, 27 master’s programs and 3 post-masters programs. On the input side, NMU has been extraordinarily successful in this effort. Senate Fiscal Agency and Presidents Council analyses show that almost 50 percent of the new freshmen from the Upper Peninsula who attend one of the public Michigan universities, choose to enroll at Northern Michigan University. The percentage of undergraduates enrolling at NMU is even higher as students return to the area to attend NMU after trying other public and private institutions.

From an outcomes perspective, Northern Michigan University trains a large majority of the teachers and administrators of the region’s elementary and secondary schools, as well as a majority of the U.P.’s city and county managers. One case in point is that 34 superintendents of the U.P.’s 55 K-12 school districts hold at least one degree from Northern. NMU provides the bulk of the nurses who staff the hospitals and medical centers, as well as the clinicians who analyze and interpret the tests. In data collected two years ago, 13 percent of the doctors in the Marquette General Health System held NMU bachelor’s degrees. Northern provides training to cosmetologists, auto mechanics and the individuals who build the buildings and operate the restaurants. In essence, NMU provides the knowledge and professional expertise that makes the U.P. run. In addition, NMU serves as the Upper Peninsula’s hub of cultural transformation through its annual offering of hundreds of performances, lectures, exhibits, concerts and sporting events. NMU is also home to one of the nation’s four Olympic training centers.

The niche that NMU fills is unique in many ways, but one of them is that NMU is the only public university that serves an entire region with a comprehensive range of academic programs and training opportunities. Lower Peninsula institutions provide similar programs; however, if one institution disappeared there would be other close-by universities and community colleges that could quickly and effectively pick up the slack. This is not the case with the uniquely intertwined relationship between the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University.

4.  In order to measure what progress the State has made in terms of achieving its higher education goals, it is essential that the State track a student throughout the student’s education career. What obstacles do you see in implementing such a tracking system?

There are certainly challenges the state would face in implementing a student tracking system, but if Michigan’s public universities are going to be judged, potentially funded and, subsequently, have the possibility of being negatively impacted based on student input-output statistics, then the argument for a student tracking systems strengthens.

Such a system would do a better job of giving these statistics more comprehensive meaning as related to how a university is actually performing. For instance, a student tracking system would demonstrate more clearly how universities such as Northern play a critical role in the state in preparing many students for professional programs by educating them through the preparatory courses, often because these courses are more affordable or more accessible, before the students transfer to other schools for professional programs not offered at NMU.  Such a system would show how universities are impacted by military service. 

The obstacles of a state-developed and operated student tracking system include student privacy issues, the significant cost of implementing and maintaining such as system, and finding a way to develop a system that is efficient in both collecting and distributing useful data. These are not small concerns. Also, it makes more sense for the state to track student movement than for individual institutions to do so. Students move around too much and the state has access to some data (such as income tax information) that universities do not. By requiring its private and public colleges to report each semester, the schools and state would be working cooperatively keep the information as accurate as possible.  A lot of good data might then be available to all of Michigan’s public and private colleges and universities at little or no cost.

Implementation of a tracking system will be complicated, but so are the issues behind any “10/20/2008and patterns. If the state plans to measure universities by such data, then it should be willing to support a way to derive accurate information that gives the state policymakers the most comprehensive understanding of what is really taking place at each institution and, to the extent that it can, explain why certain patterns exist.

5.  Given the current economic crisis our state is experiencing, taxpayers expect all state programs to exercise fiscal restraint. Please describe what cost-saving measures your university has undertaken recently; for example, please describe ways in which you are consolidating programs, services and resources with other public colleges and universities.

Northern has consistently been a good steward of state funds by exercising fiscal restraint.  Over the past several years the university has continually streamlined its operations and reduced its administrative structure by merging divisions (8 to 3), reducing the number of vice presidents (5 to 2) and the number of colleges (5 to 3).  Northern has the most efficient staffing levels in the state (the lowest number of faculty and staff per student). Although we maintain the most efficient staffing levels, we are still able to maintain relatively small class sizes with an average of 29 students per class.

The university continually reviews its academic programs and reduces or eliminates programs where demand has fallen. This year alone, 10 undergraduate and 2 graduate programs have been scheduled for elimination due to low enrollments, once currently enrolled students have completed these programs. Northern has been able to maintain the second-most affordable tuition and fees in Michigan, which includes the cost of providing all full-time students with a technology package that includes a notebook computer, software, maintenance, Internet access, and 24-7 tech support. The university has expanded wireless network access to cover the entire campus and portions of the county, including Sawyer International Airport (aviation maintenance students) and the Marquette Area Public Schools (for teacher education students) to encourage greater on-line use of university student and financial services, thus enabling further increases in efficiency. 

Some other operational cost containment and efficiency measures that have produced long-term savings include:

1. increased annual employee cost sharing contributions for health care;
2. eliminated mailings of student bills, grades, and course registration materials by moving to completely on-line/Web-based systems. This enables the university to reduce staffing, printing costs, mailing costs, and distribution costs;
3. implemented new administrative software and hardware to reduce annual maintenance costs;
4. moved to a robotic tape backup system allowing for elimination of a computer operator position and lower tape drive costs; and
5. renegotiated a relational database maintenance agreement.

Northern is also very active in partnering with other universities, colleges and the state government to enhance programming or produce cost savings and efficiencies in the delivery of educational services.  Northern is part of Merit Network, Inc., a corporation founded through a cooperative arrangement between the state’s 15 universities to achieve Internet service access and savings through joint purchasing.  A partnership through MUSIC provides the large savings through the joint purchase and self-insurance arrangements for property and liability coverage.  Through our partnership on health care (MUCH) we have established a joint purchase arrangement of health coverage and work continuously with the other universities on cost containment ideas and solutions for health care and prescription drugs. Northern’s library participates in cooperative purchasing ventures for digital resources and library management system software. As part of this, we manage library software administration system services to three other educational institutions, thus providing each institution an on-line catalog for less than what any could do alone. There is also a new statewide delivery service being implemented that runs couriers among libraries; the Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation (UPRLC) has had a delivery service in place among U.P. libraries that we've been participating in to save on postage of interlibrary loans and facilitates resource sharing. To contain costs and vastly increase access to digital resources, including electronic journals, the library works with the Michigan Library Consortium to negotiate group licenses with publishers. The success of these partnerships has provided significant savings to all universities as well as provided access to services that many institutions might not otherwise be able to afford.  

In addition to the college partnerships, we are currently working with the state toward a common goal of reducing costs for operations. As part of this effort, we are member of a utility team of state and university officials exploring ways to purchase natural gas and other utilities.

In the area of delivery of academic programs, we jointly deliver several programs or allow other universities to use our facilities to meet specific programmatic needs of students in the area.  This past year, the planning began for a joint NMU/Oakland University Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.  We worked with Western Michigan University to offer an Education Ph.D. program to 14 Upper Peninsula students.  NMU does not get any credit for this program, but we do permit WMU to offer the courses on our campus, free of charge (room fees, etc).  Northern has a partnership with Wayne State University’s School of Medicine for the MedStart Program.  The MedStart Program is a great enhancement to an already well-established NMU pre-med program that has historically provided many opportunities to help prepare a student for medical school, including preceptorships, advising, pre-med honor society, advisory board and more. Michigan State University is offering a master’s degree in social work on NMU’s campus.  In addition, we have worked in the past with Lake Superior State University to offer a master’s program in public administration on-site and Web-based. 

As mentioned earlier, Northern also works with community colleges in the area. For instance, Northern and Gogebic Community College jointly offer a bachelor’s degree in ski area business management. We also offer various bachelor’s degree and master’s completion programs at Bay De Noc Community College campus to meet regional demand. 

Northern works closely with the regional school districts. We are currently offer 100+ courses a year throughout the U.P.  for K-12 teachers, who use these courses toward state-required recertification. In addition, we have developed a consortium to provide network services to surrounding K-12 schools to meet the new state mandate that schools require students to have an on-line learning experience. Northern also assists local schools and government by providing network administration and wireless networks to public schools for access by teacher education interns, provide K.I. Sawyer International Airport with wireless access, a back-end access for the city to manage pump stations. 

The list of cost-savings measures and partnerships to produce savings, better delivery of services goes on and on. The point is that Northern is working not only within the university to provide high-quality and highly efficient programming, but also working with many partners throughout the state to ensure NMU is an excellent steward of the state’s resources.

One other point to note, is that in addition to these cost containment efforts, Northern has had to absorb increasing cost of state mandates that are growing faster than inflation, such as MPSERS unfunded health care and pension liability contributions (a state-mandated retirement benefit), the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver (a state mandate), the increased minimum wage costs, and the need to continue to invest in and maintain our facilities and technological infrastructure.   Since fiscal year 1998, NMU’s required MPSERS cost contributions have increased costs by more than $3.4 million. The base funding the university receives from the state for the Native American tuition rebate is also underfunded by approximately $260,000 annually. In addition, natural gas costs have increased by more than $1.5 million in the past two years. The increased state mandate costs, along with the substantial increase in utility costs, come at a time when our state support has declined below 1997 levels.

6.  In order to grow the State’s economy, creation of jobs is critical. Please describe how your university is creating new jobs in this 21st century economy.

Northern Michigan University is the third-largest employer in Marquette County, the largest university in the Upper Peninsula and an active partner with local industries.

Northern developed an economic development entity in the early 1980’s to grow the Upper Peninsula economy. This entity partnered with ShoreBank Corporation, a community development bank based in Chicago, and formed Northern Initiatives (NI) as a non-profit economic development corporation in 1992.  Through the partnership, the university has helped established a loan fund to further enhance its efforts to diversify and strengthen the local economy.  The loan fund has helped existing businesses grow and 55 percent of the loans have been to start-up companies. 

In 2006, the economic development efforts resulted in 29 new business start-ups and the creation or retention of 143 jobs.  Since the inception of Northern’s partnership with NI and Shorebank in 1992, the economic development effort has provided $35 million of leveraged bank loans and resulted in 134 new business start-ups, the creation of 854 new jobs and the retention of 216 jobs in the region. 

Northern is also a key player in the Lake Superior Community Partnership, which is a multi-city partnership of chambers of commerce and economic development.

Northern provides every full-time student with a notebook computer as part of tuition and fees.  The program has created a connected learning community that embraces the use of technology and, as a result, every major at NMU is a technology major as every academic program has some technology components.  This has created a tech savvy potential workforce for the Upper Peninsula (and beyond) and it has prepared NMU graduates well for the 21st century worldwide marketplace. This winter semester, Northern offered 723 course sections that were either fully Web-based or Web-enhanced, helping students take classes wherever they are in the U.P. or region, whenever they can take them.

As one of the largest notebook computer universities in the world (every NMU full-time student receives use of a notebook computer as part of tuition), NMU shares its vast technological resources and know-how with the Upper Peninsula community. For instance, in an effort to grow wireless access for the university’s nearly 7,000 off-campus students, Northern ultimately assisted the City of Marquette in its efforts to increase wireless capabilities for residents, city employees and businesses.  Northern also was instrumental in helping the Sawyer International Airport in Gwinn and the Gwinn area schools develop a wireless network. This in turn enabled NMU student teachers to use their notebook computers in those schools and students in the NMU aviation maintenance technology program training on-site at the airport. Also, NMU works with the K-12 schools throughout the Upper Peninsula (and actually through the state and region) to provide the technology for schoolchildren to take virtual field trips all over the country and world, and to offer virtual multi-school classes that might not be offered in small rural schools, such as in instruction in Chinese languages.

Northern works closely with regional businesses to meet their educational needs and ensure they have the graduates they need to build and expand their businesses.  We have partnered with two leading, high-tech U.P. firms in training their workforce: Pioneer Surgical Technology, a world-leading research and manufacturer of surgical instruments and orthopedic implants, and Ironwood Plastics, manufacturer of leading-edge, sophisticated molded components for medicine, aerospace and automotive applications. In both cases, these businesses came to NMU with training needs and worked with the university to create academic programs to equip their employees and future employees with needed knowledge and skills. Graduates of these programs know that there is demand for these skills nationwide, but that they were specifically created to help develop the workforces of two U.P. companies, so those who want to stay in Michigan’s U.P., can.

Northern has also partnered with Marquette General Health System in ways that provide students with unique learning opportunities in cutting-edge health care practice. Under a lease arrangement, the hospital has constructed a cytogenetics analysis lab within NMU’s science education facility that enables Northern’s clinical lab science students to have real-world training and is also used by hospital staff members for research. Several of our biology faculty members have developed cooperative research programs with hospital physicians in the areas of brain tumor treatment and virus detection, giving students in these programs unequalled opportunities to be at the leading edge of important health issues.

NMU’s Schools of Art and Design and Technology and Applied Sciences have a joint focus on the new human-centered design and rapid prototyping program. This initiative uniquely blends the disciplines of design and manufacturing in a way that enables the rapid response and customization required in the 21st century.

Northern participates in a number of highly successful business training programs, including those for Pioneer Surgical Technology, AMR-American Eagle, Cleveland Cliffs Inc., Louisiana-Pacific and others. When the U.P. needs a particular type of worker, NMU has been successful in providing the training. A good example is NMU teaming with the Lake Superior Community Partnership and the Midwest Skills Development Center to create a one-year electrical line technician program to address the upper Midwest’s critical demand for line technicians. In the case of all of these programs, the job placement rates are in the 90 percent range. Each year, NMU also offers more than 200 training courses where employees come to campus to receive craft upgrade training in specific technical fields.

Northern also provides employee assessment services for regional employers as new employees are hired and as existing employees are evaluated for promotion within a company. 

Because of Michigan licensing requirements, Northern now partners with the Northwest Association of Social Workers to provide continuing education courses for social workers throughout state.

Northern’s new citizen-leadership program, the Superior Edge, as well as NMU’s internationalization initiative are other examples of how the university is preparing students for 21st century jobs and the ability to create jobs in today’s global marketplace.  Already Northern is doing many things to provide academic service learning, leadership and international experiences, but these initiatives will put all activities under the two respective umbrellas and further expand options.  The Superior Edge Program will provide transcript notation for completion of any or all of the “edges”: citizenship, diversity awareness, leadership, real-world application, and the comprehensive Superior Edge (completion of all four edges), enabling prospective employers to easily identify student initiative taken above and beyond the classroom and degree requirements.

Internationally, our hope is that the majority of future NMU students will spend at least six months outside the United States in activity that will count toward their degrees. A world economy requires graduates to have first-hand experience with that world. We are also working diligently to infuse more international content throughout the curriculum across majors. The scope and perspective of our coursework is significantly more worldwide. We are also bringing more of the world to the NMU campus than ever before.

In closing, you can see that Northern is a leader in helping grow the state’s economy, assisting in developing academic programs that meet job needs of businesses and health industry, and in creating technically skilled graduates that are tuned to the 21st century economy. We look forward to continuing to contribute to Michigan’s future.

Thank you for this opportunity to address the committee.