Strategic Plan

Northern Michigan University is among 228 colleges and universities nationwide and one of only three public institutions in Michigan named to the 2024 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society's Transfer Honor Roll for “creating dynamic pathways” to support transfer students. This accomplishment marks the third consecutive year Northern has been recognized for outstanding transfer student services.

Northern Michigan University has been recognized as a STARS Gold Institution by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. STARS is the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System. An institution's score is based on the percentage of applicable points earned across five main categories: academics; engagement; operations; planning and administration; and innovation and leadership.

Northern Michigan University recently became the first higher education collaborator in the 12-year history of Northern Strike, one of the Department of Defense's largest joint military readiness exercises held at the largest National Guard training facility in the country. Eight NMU information assurance/cyber defense students had a rare opportunity to work alongside military cybersecurity teams from the U.S. and NATO ally Latvia Aug. 11-12. Their mission was to regain control of a network used for communications and war command that had been compromised by a foreign adversary, determine how the network was infiltrated and remediate the vulnerability.

Northern Michigan University is partnering with Michigan Technological University to prepare 30 middle school science teachers to become leaders in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The National Science Foundation is providing $2.7 million through the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program to support this six-year initiative, named Partnering to Prepare STEM Master Teachers for Michigan's Middle Schools. 

A half-dozen NMU entities collaborated on a new summer initiative to provide students in need with free bikes that had been abandoned on campus and unclaimed after reasonable efforts to contact the owners. A total of 16 bikes were distributed.

Northern Michigan University has launched the Northern Shores Storywork Writing Project Site, an initiative that aims to support teachers in developing their own writing skills and teaching practices, ultimately enhancing student achievement in writing across the Upper Great Lakes region. It is part of the prestigious National Writing Project (NWP) network.

Northern Michigan University has received $35,000 from the U.S. Department of State to initiate study-abroad opportunities for education students that will better prepare them to humanize diverse populations and cultures in their teaching careers. NMU was one of 37 universities—and the only one in Michigan—to share in $1.3 million awarded via the 2024 Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) program grant competition.

Northern Michigan University's Board of Trustees has approved 2024-25 tuition and fee rates that support strategic goals of removing barriers to student access, investing in faculty/staff and infrastructure, and maintaining the university's financial strength and sustainability. The cost of attending NMU also will remain competitive, continuing as second-most affordable among the state's 15 public institutions.

In an effort to increase the state's behavioral health workforce, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS) is providing 12 universities, including Northern, with $5 million in funding to support one-time $30,000 stipends for students seeking a master's degree in social work. Eligible students must already hold a bachelor's in the field and commit to two years of public sector behavioral health work in Michigan upon graduation.