NMC’s brand meets AI: A few rules to remember

Nov 9, 2026 | Intercom

Creating flyers, posters and social media posts is now part of the regular workflow for many NMC departments. We love the creativity! To help, PRMC offers free Canva membership, brand standards, brand resources, brand guidelines and specific logo guidelines for creating materials that look and feel like NMC.

As AI becomes a bigger part of how we work, it’s important to remember that NMC’s brand guidelines still apply. The college recently updated its generative AI policy to specifically define “institutional videos, photography, the NMC logo(s), mascot and all other brand assets” as proprietary information that may not be uploaded to unauthorized genAI applications. See D510-00 FAQs Appendix A for more information.

So what does this mean?

1. NMC brand assets should only be used in institutionally recommended tools, including NMC’s Canva team, Gemini and Gemini Notebook.
2. When using AI with NMC’s brand, keep our brand assets exactly as they are. That means no logo redesigns, new versions of Swoop or creative experiments with our colors and fonts.

NMC invested considerable time and money in the redesigned brand, including trademarking our logo. Let AI help with the brainstorming, writing and creativity—but keep our logos, Swoop, fonts and colors consistent to protect the recognition and value of our brand.

If you have questions, contact PRMC at publicrelations@nmc.edu.

Human Resources relocates to Front Street Campus

Nov 6, 2026 | Intercom

Human Resources has officially relocated to the Front Street Campus and is now located on the lower level of the Biederman Building in room 34.

To maintain a secure environment, the main entrance will remain locked until a new doorbell system is installed. In the meantime, visitors are asked to knock upon arrival, and a member of the HR team will be happy to let you in.

Additional Boardman Lake Campus relocations

As departments transition from the Boardman Lake Campus to their new locations across NMC, please take note of the following updates:

• • Extended Education & Training: Parsons-Stulen Building, Aero Park Campus
  • Strategic Initiatives: Parsons-Stulen Building, Aero Park Campus
  • International Affairs Forum: Dennos Museum Center, Front Street Campus
  • Office of Research and Planning Effectiveness: Remote

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and flexibility as our teams settle into their new spaces. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation throughout these transitions.

Success story: Increasing experiential learning for all students

Nov 5, 2026 | Intercom

November 5, 2026

If you remember school as rows of desks with an instructor standing in front, consider joining students in two of NMC’s longest-running experiential learning projects this month, which showcase the college’s strategic goal to offer more classes like them.

NMC is a leader in experiential learning, which flips the traditional “learn to do” method of instruction to “doing to learn” by providing students with hands-on opportunities to solve real problems and engage in their community. That’s exactly what the 13th annual Thanks-for-Giving food drive and the 11th annual Walk for Health & Housing do.

The food drive, led by business students (pictured above), seeks to provide 215 Thanksgiving meal boxes to local families. Collection of food and financial donations is underway now, including a public Glow Skate event from 7-9 p.m. Friday at Howe Arena. Meals will be distributed Nov. 23.

The walk, set for Wednesday, Nov. 18, shows downtown Traverse City from the perspective of people experiencing homelessness and the providers who serve them. Departing from Central United Methodist Church, the 90-minute guided tour is a collaborative project involving social work, sociology and English classes held during National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, Nov. 15–22.

Research shows students involved in experiential learning are more likely to persist through their college coursework and graduate. NMC offers a degree-accompanying endorsement that transcribes a student’s experiential learning into personal and professional skills sought by employers. Currently 105 students are enrolled, ahead of the 100-student target, which is nearly double the 2025–2026 endorsement enrollment.

Luke Klug, a 2026 graduate in construction management, earned the endorsement along with his degree. He is a project manager at Endura Performance Homes.

“The skills and the experiences that I went through through the endorsement helped build my confidence to go through the interview process,” said Klug, who moved into the role from a position as a carpenter at another company.

For his endorsement, Klug participated in a variety of activities, including studying sustainable building in Denmark. Key for him was a business class he took with Kristy McDonald, who also leads the Thanksgiving meal drive project.

“Having taken that class really helped me build those skills to have a conversation professionally,” Klug said.

McDonald, who co-directs NMC’s Experiential Learning Institute with Brandon Everest, the sociology instructor behind the walk, said they are intent on growing EL strategically, well beyond their own classes.

“As we expand experiential learning and intentionally embed a durable skills curriculum across NMC, our goal is to ensure more students have these transformative opportunities and can clearly communicate the skills they’ve gained to future employers and opportunities,” she said.