Mission
We provide educational, economic, and cultural opportunities for student learning, personal growth, and community improvement.
Philosophy
We improve the quality of life for our students and the communities we serve.
Core Values
Learning - Creating an environment where people can learn; providing opportunities for people to acquire knowledge and new skills; creating a culture that values assessment.
Service - Demonstrating a commitment to helping others on and off campus.
Community - Building relationships among diverse people and organizations.
Access - Offering an affordable, open-door pathway to opportunity.
Excellence - Striving for the highest quality; utilizing assessment results to measure and improve quality.
Integrity - Being honest, fair , respectful and responsible.
NCMC History
North Central Michigan College was established in 1958 as Michigan’s 12th community college. Efforts to establish a community college in Petoskey began in 1955, when the Petoskey Evening College was started as a joint venture between the Petoskey Board of Education and Central Michigan College (now Central Michigan University). After that, momentum began building toward establishing a community college. A public meeting was held in 1957 to assemble a committee to further study the feasibility of having a college in this area. The committee considered every city in the area, and recommended Petoskey as the best centralized location.
The old Sheridan School on the corner of Howard and Sheridan streets was chosen for the location, and on June 17, 1958, an election was held in Emmet County to determine if plans for a college should proceed. The vote was overwhelmingly positive.
Another election in August 1958 was to approve an operating millage for the college, and NCMC opened its doors on July 1, 1959. Seven faculty, a dean and three support staff welcomed 105 students on September 14.
The first graduating class in 1960 was made up of six women—three from Petoskey, two from Charlevoix, and one from Vanderbilt. They had entered as transfer students and thus were able to complete degrees in just one year. The next year marked the first group of graduates to complete their full associate degrees at NCMC, with a total of 25 students in the class.
Development of the current campus began in 1962 when the college bought 10 acres of land, and later 120 adjacent acres (known locally as the "Russian Swamp"—now the college’s natural area) on Howard Street. By 1963 the first buildings were completed and some classes were held on the new campus at 1515 Howard Street. A chemistry building, heating plant and temporary library were the first structures to be built, and over the next few years more land was purchased for additional facilities. Most buildings were constructed in the late 1960s. The Library/Conference Center was added in 1984.
The latest addition to the campus is the 71,000 square foot Student and Community Resource Center, completed in 2001. The Center has physical education and recreation facilities, an expanded college bookstore, and the College’s Learning Support Services, which include open computer labs, a tutoring center, assessment and testing facilities, and study areas.
