Student Questions

Who will be teaching these classes?
Northern Michigan University is committed to attracting the best faculty available, made up of professionals who are currently working or who have worked in the industry. We will be assessing both an instructor’s academic preparation as well as professional experiences. NMU believes there are many loss prevention professionals working in the field at the regional, director and vice-president level who would make excellent program instructors. This is in addition to those who have retired, have the academic qualifications and want to stay active in the industry.  

What is the first LPM course I should take?
You will be required to enroll in LPM 101, Principles of Asset Protection. This is a pre-requite course for all other LPM courses in your major. You must pass this course with a "C" or better before being allowed to register for further LPM courses.

How many credits does a student need to graduate?
This four-year bachelor’s degree requires 124 credit hours to graduate. 

Do I have to take all classes through Northern Michigan University to get the degree?
You can take college courses locally; in fact, NMU encourages you to do so. However, you will need to contact NMU in advance to ensure the courses you are taking meet the academic requirements for them to transfer into your degree program. You will need to take all of the retail loss prevention classes through NMU as they would be part of your major and NMU mandates that a minimum of 32 credit hours be taken through NMU before a student can graduate.

A number of years ago I took some college classes. Can I transfer these credits to NMU and receive credit toward the loss prevention management degree?
As with any transfer credit, NMU would perform an audit to see if courses taken from other institutions will meet the course requirements here. To the extent that they satisfy those requirements, they would transfer into your program of study. Please note that NMU has a history of being very flexible in this regard and will work closely with each student to be sure that past educational experiences are fully considered. A transfer student would need to submit all other college credit transcripts to be evaluated when you apply to NMU.

What about advance placement credits? I have been working in loss prevention for five years and have gone through a very structured training and certification program, including Wicklander Zulowski. Will NMU recognize this training?
NMU is prepared to offer advanced placement credit to those individuals who have gone through a structured training and certification program with their respective companies, if they meet NMU’s academic requirements. Professionals in the field can appreciate the different levels of internal loss prevention training programs throughout the industry. Some are only a few days in length, while others take months to complete and involve levels of sophistication and testing that would rival most university courses. NMU is prepared to analyze each company’s training program in detail. If the training equates to a college-level course, we are prepared to offer advanced placement credits. This will be done on a case-by-case, company-by-company basis.

My company currently has a continuing education program that involves tuition reimbursement. How do I know if the program at NMU will qualify?
We strongly recommend that you contact the individuals within your company who manage this process and receive approval prior to registering for NMU courses. It has been our experience that if there is a direct benefit to your existing job, many companies will reimburse their associates. Please recognize, however, that this varies greatly from company to company. If representatives within your organization need additional program information on NMU courses, contact NMU's Criminal Justice department at 906-227-2660.

Does enrollment have to be tied to company reimbursement or can I simply take classes on my own? If so, how much will the program cost and will I have to pay out-of-state tuition?
Any loss prevention professional who wishes to take online courses is welcome to do so, regardless if he or she is part of a company reimbursement program or not. Along with the initial application and orientation fees, online students are only charged the extention-rate for courses. The "online" student does not incur any other fees that on-campus students have to pay.