One-year law enforcement certificate now available

Feb 18, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College is now offering a one-year law enforcement certificate in addition to a degree, creating a more affordable option for individuals interested in law enforcement careers.

The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, MCOLES, requires a minimum of an associate degree before prospective officers may take a state licensing exam. NMC’s two-year degree program, also known as the Police Academy, was designed as one year of general education credits, and a second year of law enforcement-specific credits.

The new certificate will consist of just the second-year curriculum and serve as an option for students who have already earned some college credits or an associate degree or higher from NMC or any other institution. Five police cadets will have the opportunity to earn the new certificate this spring.

With the creation of the certificate, MCOLES has also agreed to waive the degree requirement for honorably-discharged military veterans with one year of military police officer service. Veterans who meet this criteria can use their GI Bill funding to enroll in the certificate program and become a police officer in two semesters.

The new credential comes as NMC’s law enforcement program approaches its 30^th anniversary this fall. Police Academy Director Brian Heffner, said the new certificate is timely in an era of higher educational attainment and more frequent career changes.

“We have many inquiries at NMC from individuals who have degrees in other fields that are wishing to change careers – this creates an opportunity for students to gain their MCOLES certification to become a police officer in two semester,” Heffner said.

Police Academy cadet Nathan Lentz will be among the first to receive the new certificate in May. Lentz graduated from NMC in 2013 with an associate degree in Business Administration.  While working in the business environment he returned to NMC to complete the Police Academy in two semesters.

“Offering a certificate for us who already have our degree is not only something else we can add to our resume, it’s something tangible that we can be proud of,” Lentz said.

The certificate was approved by the NMC Board of Trustees Jan. 25.

Release date: February 19, 2016

For more information:

Brian Heffner
NMC Police Academy director
(231) 995-1283
bheffner@nmc.edu

Success Story: Student engagement fosters academic success

Feb 17, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

February 17, 2016

Black Lives Matter. So do women’s lives, LGBT lives, and allies’ lives. And all of those causes might matter, it turns out, to whether the students advocating for them graduate, or even earn a better GPA.

NMC’s Student Life office presently has more groups focused on social issues — including a Black Student Union, a feminist-oriented Students United for Gender Rights (SUGR), and PRIDE, an LGBT group — than Student Life dean Lisa Thomas can remember.

That’s important because research shows engaged students are more likely to succeed in college. (A 2010 Purdue study even showed that student group members earned higher GPAs than non-members. Group officers had higher GPAs still.) 

Moreover, Thomas says that when the groups are related to a student’s area of academic interest, it magnifies the connection between engagement and success.

“Seventy-five to 80 percent of the time, the student group they’re in makes sense because of an academic interest they have in their area,” she said. “This kind of engagement leads to student success.”

SUGR founder Kia Schwert exemplifies that. A dean’s list student, she entered NMC intending to study social work. After her sociology instructor gave her a book, “Feminism is for Everyone,” by bell hooks, she decided to start a feminist group.

That instructor, Rachel Johansen-Wilczewski, now advises SUGR. She said the members’ dedication, even meeting over the winter holiday break, impresses her.

“They mean business,” she said.

In addition to on-campus events, SUGR is now focused planning an alternative spring break trip focused on awareness of human trafficking and assistance to victims. Schwert herself is looking ahead to transferring to a school with a women’s studies program.

BSU founder Maya James, who’s believed to be the first dual-enrolled student to start a group, is another example of the activist-success feedback loop. She aspires to law school. Later this month, her group will go to Lansing to attend the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus Capitol Day.

“The activism we’ve been doing has been shaping our community,” said James, 17, who holds weekly discussion meetings, monthly black writer book club discussions and curated a display of books in the Osterlin Library for this month’s Black History Month.

James also initiated the January campus performance of Sampson McCormick, a gay black comedian, reaching out to Schwert and Caleb Yorty of PRIDE for help.

“There’s been a lot of student leadership stepping forward,” said Yorty, 20, who’s also a dean’s list student and involved with a grief support group in addition to the social justices causes. He studies psychology.

“I’ve never watched three student groups work so effectively together,” Thomas said of the comedy event. “While they have different missions, they have overlapping values. It was really encouraging.”

Success Story: Student engagement fosters academic success

Feb 17, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

February 17, 2016

Black Lives Matter. So do women’s lives, LGBT lives, and allies’ lives. And all of those causes might matter, it turns out, to whether the students advocating for them graduate, or even earn a better GPA.

NMC’s Student Life office presently has more groups focused on social issues — including a Black Student Union, a feminist-oriented Students United for Gender Rights (SUGR), and PRIDE, an LGBT group — than Student Life dean Lisa Thomas can remember.

That’s important because research shows engaged students are more likely to succeed in college. (A 2010 Purdue study even showed that student group members earned higher GPAs than non-members. Group officers had higher GPAs still.) 

Moreover, Thomas says that when the groups are related to a student’s area of academic interest, it magnifies the connection between engagement and success.

“Seventy-five to 80 percent of the time, the student group they’re in makes sense because of an academic interest they have in their area,” she said. “This kind of engagement leads to student success.”

SUGR founder Kia Schwert exemplifies that. A dean’s list student, she entered NMC intending to study social work. After her sociology instructor gave her a book, “Feminism is for Everyone,” by bell hooks, she decided to start a feminist group.

That instructor, Rachel Johansen-Wilczewski, now advises SUGR. She said the members’ dedication, even meeting over the winter holiday break, impresses her.

“They mean business,” she said.

In addition to on-campus events, SUGR is now focused planning an alternative spring break trip focused on awareness of human trafficking and assistance to victims. Schwert herself is looking ahead to transferring to a school with a women’s studies program.

BSU founder Maya James, who’s believed to be the first dual-enrolled student to start a group, is another example of the activist-success feedback loop. She aspires to law school. Later this month, her group will go to Lansing to attend the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus Capitol Day.

“The activism we’ve been doing has been shaping our community,” said James, 17, who holds weekly discussion meetings, monthly black writer book club discussions and curated a display of books in the Osterlin Library for this month’s Black History Month.

James also initiated the January campus performance of Sampson McCormick, a gay black comedian, reaching out to Schwert and Caleb Yorty of PRIDE for help.

“There’s been a lot of student leadership stepping forward,” said Yorty, 20, who’s also a dean’s list student and involved with a grief support group in addition to the social justices causes. He studies psychology.

“I’ve never watched three student groups work so effectively together,” Thomas said of the comedy event. “While they have different missions, they have overlapping values. It was really encouraging.”