Looking back on 2021…
Together with our donor-partners, we exceeded our $9.9 million fundraising goal for the Building Tomorrow Together capital campaign, raising more than $10 million when the campaign ended in October. Our Borra Learning Center opened August 19, in time for our Fall 2021 semester. The new 3,000-square-foot Student Commons is now the anchor of our busiest building, and all North Central students benefit from centralized support services including advising, counseling, and career services, as well as expanded access to scholarships and cutting-edge classroom technology.
We also took a meaningful step forward with athletics, joining both the National Junior College Athletic Association and the Michigan Community College Athletic Association. Recruiting is underway for six varsity sports to begin in Fall 2022, including volleyball, esports, and men’s and women’s basketball and cross country. The addition of our Timberwolf mascot, introduced during Petoskey’s Fourth of July celebration, was an exciting complement to our athletics initiatives.
Most importantly, in May, we added another 284 graduates—including 36 nurses—to the ranks of North Central alumni. Their determination and commitment to success reminds us how fortunate we are to be part of their journey.
Looking ahead to 2022 and beyond…
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that undergraduate enrollment fell by 3.1%, or nearly a half-million students, across all sectors of higher education last year. Community colleges saw a decline of 3.4% in enrollment compared to Fall 2021, due in part to a strong job market diverting prospective students. While the decline is less steep than the year prior (a 21% decrease from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020), it highlights the need for colleges and universities to reposition themselves in a post-pandemic world.
North Central is responding to a structural shift in higher education, underway for some time but accelerated by the pandemic. Such changes include an increased focus on online programs and skills-based certifications, diversification of credit and noncredit offerings, and a deeper commitment to equity and social justice.
- Online Programs: Flexibility and choice in learning modality will be a major trend in higher education
for 2022 and beyond. Put simply, students expect convenience, which means having
a choice between in-person, online and hybrid courses.
- North Central was granted approval to offer fully online programs in early 2021 and
immediately announced online degrees in four areas, including two of our most popular
transfer degrees, the Associate of Arts and the Associate of General Studies. Initial
offerings have been expanded to include degrees in business, communication, criminal
justice, early childhood education, psychology, public health, and social work, with
numerous others in process. The addition of a full-time Instructional Designer will
aid our progress on this front.
- North Central was granted approval to offer fully online programs in early 2021 and
immediately announced online degrees in four areas, including two of our most popular
transfer degrees, the Associate of Arts and the Associate of General Studies. Initial
offerings have been expanded to include degrees in business, communication, criminal
justice, early childhood education, psychology, public health, and social work, with
numerous others in process. The addition of a full-time Instructional Designer will
aid our progress on this front.
- Skills-Based Learning: Traditional, credit-bearing credentials will always be valuable, but there will be
an increased demand for micro-credentials and skills-based learning as individuals
look to leverage their experience in an increasingly competitive job market.
- Our new Manufacturing and Engineering Technology Lab offers courses to strengthen industry in Northern Michigan and beyond. Micro-certifications are also offered in areas including mechatronics, safety, quality, Lean Manufacturing, mechanical drives, electrical circuits, programmable logic controllers, and robotics. Launching the program through our Corporate and Community Education department is the first step in a plan to build program pathways resulting in degrees that transfer to four-year universities.
- North Central will offer a Fast-Track Healthcare Bundle program in May, allowing students
to earn three in-demand healthcare certifications in less than five months. The program
will result in National Healthcareer Association (NHA) certification in the areas
of Clinical Medical Assistant, EKG Technician, and Phlebotomy Technician.
- Diversification of Noncredit Offerings: Colleges and universities will look to expand their noncredit operations, due in part
to increased competition for traditional, degree-seeking students.
- The college has expanded its noncredit offerings to appeal to an even broader range
of learners. North Central’s Lifelong Learning Club, run by our Corporate and Community
Education department, now boasts 3,350 members who have taken at least once class
since the program launched in late 2020. We will continue to grow this arm of the
college by adding even more personal enrichment opportunities for our lifelong learners.
- The college has expanded its noncredit offerings to appeal to an even broader range
of learners. North Central’s Lifelong Learning Club, run by our Corporate and Community
Education department, now boasts 3,350 members who have taken at least once class
since the program launched in late 2020. We will continue to grow this arm of the
college by adding even more personal enrichment opportunities for our lifelong learners.
- Deeper Commitment to Equity and Social Justice: The past two years have seen a cultural reawakening around social justice and equity,
making organizations’ commitment to these initiatives more important than ever. This
is especially true for community colleges, which have a proud history of serving underrepresented
populations.
- North Central faculty and staff are participating in a three-year professional development series with Dr. Paul Hernandez, a well-known sociologist and sought-after consultant whose research focuses on education, social inequality, and diversity. Their goal is to make the North Central experience more equitable and inclusive for students of all backgrounds. Our Student Services staff and 27 full- and part-time faculty will take the initiative to scale over the next three years, training the rest of the college’s team members on best practices.
- Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee meets regularly to identify and recommend solutions to possible sources of bias that might disproportionately disadvantage marginalized individuals. Committee members organize events aimed at increasing awareness of social justice issues. In January, we celebrated our inaugural Martin Luther King, Jr. Day essay contest, the first of many DEI events.
Each of these initiatives will result in positive, necessary steps forward, and the degree to which institutions respond will affect their success in 2022 and beyond. North Central remains focused on its mission to deliver exceptional, accessible, relevant higher education for all learners.
David Roland Finley is president of North Central Michigan College. Reach him at
president@ncmich.edu.
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