NMC earns Military-Friendly School status

TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College is one of only two community colleges in Michigan to earn Military Friendly® School status by the online community MilitaryFriendly.com.

The award was based on NMC’s performance in multiple categories of service to military and veteran students. The most heavily weighted, at 30 percent each, are military student support and retention, and graduation and career outcomes.

The designation is the latest recognition of the year-round priority NMC places on serving those who have served. The most recent manifestation of this priority is authorization of a less than three-year bachelor’s degree program for veterans enrolled in the College’s Great Lakes Maritime Academy (GLMA) who already hold a bachelor's degree, reducing the time and cost to earn this specialized degree by more than 25 percent. This authorization required Congressional action. As a result of GLMA lobbying efforts it was contained in the National Defense Authorization Act signed in late 2024.

Another such shortened path is available in law enforcement. Eligibility for NMC’s one-semester Police Academy requires an associate degree. However, that requirement is waived for students with one year active duty service as a military police officer.

Both the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and Police Academy are among the top 10 NMC programs chosen by veterans. Another magnet program is Marine Technology. Enrollment in this bachelor’s degree is 16% veterans in 2024–25, compared to 4.1% veteran enrollment in all college programs. That translated to 127 students in 2024–25, and 21 2025 graduates. The top programs by veteran enrollment are:

  1. (TIE) Aviation and Maritime Technology (17 each)
  2. Construction Technology (11)
  3. Associate in Science and Arts (ASA - transfer degree) - 9
  4. Nursing (8)
  5. Engineering (7)
  6. Business (6)
  7. (TIE) Computer Information Technology and Marine Technology (5 each)
  8. Law enforcement (4)

In addition to the military-friendly designation, NMC also earned gold-level Veteran-Friendly School recognition by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency for 2024–25. NMC was cited for a dozen different services offered to 76 current veteran students. Find out more about NMC's service to military members, veterans and their dependents at nmc.edu/veterans.

Release date: May 19, 2025

For more information:

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

 

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