I\u2019m compelled to write to you after what I believe was an ill-informed Forum article in the Record Eagle on July 4, 2015.<\/p>\n
First, let me thank the taxpayers of Grand Traverse County and the State of Michigan for supporting Northwestern Michigan College over its 64 year history.\u00a0 Next, thank you to the tens of thousands of learners who have chosen to experience NMC.\u00a0 And lastly, I want to thank all the staff and faculty who have dedicated their energy and passion to changing lives and building our community.<\/p>\n
Higher education has changed a lot since I first attended college in 1971.\u00a0 We as a nation have recognized that many more of our citizens need some form of education beyond high school.\u00a0 When I attended, about 20% of high school grads went on to some type of college experience.\u00a0 Today in our region, that number is approaching 80%.\u00a0 With that increase has come the implementation of many services that were not needed nor offered in the past.\u00a0 A constantly growing spate of regulations, reporting and audits face all educational organizations.\u00a0 For those of you who are old enough to remember 1971, we do not live in the same world and our citizens do not have the same expectations.<\/p>\n
NMC has made significant investments in learning as it is delivered today and will need to be delivered tomorrow.\u00a0 Investments in technology, in learning coaches, in campus security, in recruiting, in advising, in institutional research that helps us improve student learning, in instructional design, in professional development for faculty and staff, in financial aid management.\u00a0 We have special services for veterans, new and expanded programming including NMC baccalaureate degrees, University Center programs and national accreditation for nursing and other areas.\u00a0 The staff that support these efforts are critical contributors to learner success.<\/p>\n
Many colleges and universities during the past 15 years have significantly reduced the number of full time faculty.\u00a0 NMC has not been one of these.\u00a0 In 2001, when I became president here, we had 88 regular career plan faculty and they represented 57% of the direct instructional staff.\u00a0 In 2014 we had 96 regular career plan faculty representing 57% of the direct instructional staff.<\/p>\n
Adjunct faculty play an important role in today\u2019s learning environment.\u00a0 They are often practicing professionals who want to give back to their community and profession.\u00a0 They may be retired faculty from other institutions who wish to continue to teach on a limited basis.\u00a0 They may be NMC staff with special qualifications or backgrounds.\u00a0 This group of dedicated individuals is critical to our ability to provide quality learning experiences.<\/p>\n
Other learning experiences that our community expects include training in the workplace for businesses and their employees.\u00a0 A robust College for Kids, Life Academy and year round Extended Education programming have all blossomed.\u00a0 Our Dennos Museum Center is a leader in the state and the nation for its work in the area of arts and culture.<\/p>\n
NMC makes considerable investments in our facilities.\u00a0 Our taxpayers voted a bond in late 1999 that allowed us to leverage funding to repair and replace long neglected buildings.\u00a0 We promised not to allow that to happen and allocate close to $1.5 million per year in their upkeep.<\/p>\n
The notion that any expenditure not directed at full-time faculty is an administration expense is false.\u00a0 It takes all of us and all of these services to assure student success and I thank each and every one of you for all that you do every day.<\/p>\n
Timothy J. Nelson, President
\nNorthwestern Michigan College
\nJuly 8, 2015<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Part I of a coming series<\/p>\n
I\u2019m compelled to write to you after what I believe was an ill-informed Forum article in the Record Eagle on July 4, 2015.<\/p>\n
First, let me thank the taxpayers of Grand Traverse County and the State of Michigan for supporting Northwestern Michigan College over its 64 year history. Next, thank you to the tens of thousands of learners who have chosen to experience NMC. And lastly, I want to thank all the staff and faculty who have dedicated their energy and passion to changing lives and building our community….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-presidents-update"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n