I’m back from a short hiatus of newsletters with information I hope you will find helpful as you prepare for the fast-approaching fall semester. If I’ve not touched on something that you have questions about, please do not hesitate to send a note to NMUPres@nmu.edu. I may not know the answer, but I always know where to find people who do. I will write again at the start of August with many more details related to the start-of-school activities.
BOARD SETS TUITION: The NMU Board of Trustees set tuition and fee rates for 2009-10 at the meeting last Friday, July 17. The board raised tuition for all full-time Northern resident undergraduate students by $188 per semester (students taking 12-18 credits) and $299 per semester for non-resident undergraduates. The new tuition and fee rates balance a 5.3 percent tuition increase with a 9.8 percent boost (or about $1 million) in university-supported financial aid and scholarships and $2.9 million in university-wide budget reductions. It’s also important to note that because of the increases in NMU and federal financial aid support (Pell Grant), about one-third of Northern students — those with the greatest financial need — will actually be paying less in tuition in fiscal year 2010 than they did last year. Additionally, if NMU receives stimulus funding this fall, the dollars will be divided among undergraduates and credited to their accounts. All of Northern’s tuition and fee rates can be found at www.nmu.edu/tuition.
PERCENT VS. DOLLARS: At this time of the year, I always include this paragraph about percent of tuition increase versus dollar increase. Obviously, we know that you and your NMU student care most about your actual out-of-pocket expense. However, the increases are reported to legislators, other policymakers and media in the form of percent as a way to show an apples-to-apples comparison of increases between schools in a given year. But it is important to remember that 1 percent varies in actual dollars by institution, depending on the school’s tuition starting point. The higher a school’s current rate, the more dollars associated with a 1 percent increase in tuition. A 1 percent increase in NMU tuition is about $71 while the state average is $86. NMU remains the second-most affordable university in Michigan. With only Oakland left to set rates, the increases have ranged from 3.8 to 6.7 percent. A major component for all of the Michigan universities in the tuition equation was the anticipated decrease in state funding versus protecting the quality of academic programs.
PAYMENT PLANS: Now that tuition and fee rates have been set, the NMU Student Service Center is preparing to post billing statements to student accounts, tentatively scheduled to happen Friday, July 24. Bills are not mailed. A student must log in to his or her account via MyNMU.edu (http://my.nmu.edu). Tuition and fees, along with room and board, are due Wednesday, Aug. 12. Northern offers several different payment plan options that are explained at www.nmu.edu/paymentplans. Your NMU student can authorize you to have access to review his or her financial account. A link to the authorization form is also located on the payment plan Web page.
FINALIZING FINANCIAL AID: Thank you to the many families who have submitted required documentation to the Financial Aid office. However, there are still students who have not received finalized financial aid awards due to outstanding documentation requests. Your student can view what documentation is still needed by going to his or her account on MyNMU.edu. Incomplete documentation holds up financial aid award packages, so I recommend asking that students check their account now, not a week before the start of the fall semester. One major complication on the financial aid award picture is how to address the Michigan Promise situation, which impacts about 1,000 NMU students. It’s very unlikely universities will have a final decision from the state about the fate of that program prior to the start of the semester, but we continue to monitor the situation closely and will update you (via the Parent Partnership) and impacted students (via an e-mail to their NMU accounts) with any new information we have.
DATES FOR YOUR STUDENT: In preparation for the fall semester, here are some key student dates. Room assignment and move-in information for students living in NMU’s residence halls will be mailed to their home addresses the first week of August. Welcome Weekend takes place Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 20-23, with numerous, free activities each day and evening. These events are a great way for your student to meet new people. Family members can also join in the fun. A part of Welcome Weekend includes the computer distribution. New students and returning students with end-of-lease computers will need to pick up their computers at the Superior Dome at their assigned times. Assigned times are e-mailed to returning students and letters are sent by postal mail to freshmen during the week of Aug. 10. Students who cannot make it to their assigned time should contact thinkpad@nmu.edu to make other arrangements. Classes begin on Monday, Aug. 24. Fall Fest takes place that afternoon. This event is where area businesses and organizations, along with NMU student groups, take over the academic mall to introduce themselves to Northern students.
SPEEDSKATING: NMU’s Berry Events Center is the site of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for short track speedskating Sept. 8-12, as well as for the final ISU World Cup before the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The latter takes place Nov. 12-15. I just wanted to remind parents and students that there is a 25 percent discount for tickets purchased through Saturday, Aug. 1, so if you or your NMU student are planning to attend, now is the time to get your tickets! You can get more ticket information at www.nmu.edu/tickets. Tickets can be purchased at all EZ ticket outlets, by calling 906-227-1032 or online. Your NMU student might be worrying that he/she couldn’t attend all four nights of the competition due to classes, but since the all-event passes come with individual tickets for each night, students can share all-event passes (which are the best deal) without worry. Both the Trials and the World Cup are going to be very exciting events to be a part of for NMU students and the U.P. community. To learn more about the events, go to www.nmu.edu/usoec.
ON THE STAGE: The Forest Roberts Theatre has announced its 2009-10 “New Directions” schedule, featuring ACT-letes, Oct. 7-10; Doubt, 2009 Panowski Playwriting Award Winner, Dec. 2-5; the musical Rent, Feb. 10-13 and 17-20; and The Mousetrap, April 14-17. For details on the plays and season ticket information, go to www.nmu.edu/theatre. We have very reasonable student ticket prices and I encourage all NMU students to try to attend at least one theater production. ... On Thursday, Oct. 1, the Pakistan rock band, Junoon, will perform at NMU as part of NMU’s UNITED Conference (Sept. 27-Oct. 1) and as a part of the NMU International Performing Arts Series. Junoon (www.junoon.com) has been described as the “U2 of Pakistan” by The New York Times. Tickets will be going on sale shortly through www.nmu.edu/tickets -- which you may want to mention to your NMU student as we expect a sold-out crowd. The students are very excited about this group coming here. I’m excited, too, but not for the same reason, but because Junoon’s lead singer, Salman Ahmed, is a United Nations goodwill ambassador who will give a presentation while on campus.
THINGS TO SEE: NMU parents who are also alumni are invited to participate in the NMU Alumni Association Member Appreciation Boat Cruise, which takes place at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 20, aboard the Keweenaw Star. Explore Marquette's coastline with a narrated tour by maritime historian and NMU Alumni Association board member Fred Stonehouse ’70, ‘77. Tickets are only available to NMU Alumni Association members and current parents due to the space limitations, and cost $15 per person. To make reservations (it will sell out!), call 906-227-2610. Go to www.nmu.edu/alumni for more information. … A free exhibit titled “Hollywood Comes to Marquette County: the Making of Anatomy of a Murder” is on display at the Beaumier Upper Peninsula Heritage Center (www.nmu.edu/heritage) until December as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the making of the movie. The exhibition explores the life of John Voelker ‘24, an NMU alumnus, attorney, judge and author (pen name was Robert Traver), including his work on the People vs. Peterson murder case, which was the inspiration for the book and the film. … The DeVos Art Museum’s annual “UP FOCUS," exhibition featuring the work of Ritch Branstrom, sculptor, and Joyce Koskenmaki, painter, is on display until Sunday, Aug. 9. Learn more about the artists at www.nmu.edu/devos.
CHOSEN FOR GRANTS: Four exciting faculty grants were announced recently. Psychology professor Adam Prus received an addition to his current National Institutes of Health grant for research to test a new class of drugs that treat the attention and memory problems caused by schizophrenia as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. The additional funding will be used to buy equipment so he can expand the number of students that currently work in his lab. … Anthropology professor Alex Carroll received a grant from the National Parks Service to identify the physical correlates of oral histories to the Anishnaabeg migration route in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. …The NMU Nursing Department received a grant from the Michigan Campus Compact that will enable 10 Northern senior nursing students to function as group facilitators and mentors for 10-12 youth participants from the Gwinn area. Communications professor Louise Bourgault won a joint Fulbright Scholar Grant that will bring Simten Cosar of Baskent University in Ankara, Turkey, to NMU for the fall semester to teach and do research. In the winter 2010 semester, Bourgault will do the same at Baskent University.The joint project is titled "Women, Islam and Global Media."
NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED: Two NMU students and two employees passed the exam required to become certified as a LEED Accredited Professional: Michael Andary, construction management professor, and Brandon Sager, NMU’s sustainability coordinator, along with senior Bobby Mantz of Mequon, Wis., and May graduate Jim Conlin of Cheboygan, Mich. The LEED AP program, launched in 2001 and administered by the Green Building Certification Institute, distinguishes building professionals who have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles, along with the LEED Rating System. … Dining Services chef Nathan Mileski won first place in the National Association of College and University Food Services culinary challenge. Mileski and NMU colleagues Jill Hayes, Marty Casey and Jim Rector also competed against 13 teams from the U.S. and Canada in the American Culinary Federation K9 mystery basket team competition and received the highest score, 36.5 out of 40, as well as a gold medal.
A FINAL NOTE: A special welcome to all the new NMU moms and dads who have signed up since orientation. I believe Northern Michigan University is a special place for your daughter or son to learn and grow. We really care about our students’ success, so we try to go above and beyond in the personal attention department. When they succeed, so do we. We never forget that. Enjoy what is left of summer and I'll update you with more fall-related information in early August.
Sincerely,
Les Wong, President
Northern Michigan University
