Board approves budget, tuition rates for FY 24

TRAVERSE CITY — A balanced budget and tuition rates and fees for the 2023-24 academic year were approved unanimously by the Northwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees Monday.

In-district tuition rates will increase by 3 percent, to $122 per contact hour for in-district students (Grand Traverse County residents.) Tuition rates for out-of-district and out of state students will rise 6 percent. The general fee will rise by $1 per contact hour, from $32 to $33.

For the average in-district student taking 24 contact hours in a two-semester academic year, that means an increase of $120 ($96 in tuition, $24 in fees.) A table of tuition rates for all residencies and programs is available here (p. 41). NMC tuition is about one-quarter the cost of in-state tuition at a four-year public university.

“NMC is committed to offering a strong educational value,” said NMC President Nick Nissley. “This year that includes keeping our tuition increase below the rate of inflation.”

This year’s increase is below last year’s 5 percent increase. In 2021, a tuition increase was mostly offset by a fee decrease. The college held tuition flat in 2020. Tuition amounts to 45 percent of NMC’s budget and is the only revenue source the college controls. Property taxes (26 percent) and state aid (28 percent) are the two other primary revenue sources.

As of fall 2022 semester, NMC’s in-district tuition was the ninth lowest among Michigan's 28 community colleges. Thanks to community donors the college also awards more than $1 million in institutional scholarships annually. Adults over 25 who don’t already have a degree are eligible for a state scholarship, Michigan Reconnect, which pays 100 percent of in-district tuition. The high school class of 2023 is also eligible for up to $2,750 per year through the Michigan Achievement scholarship. 

Release date: JUNE 27, 2023

For more information:

Cari Noga
NMC Communications Director
cnoga@nmc.edu
(231) 392-1800 (Call or text)