NMC rises to No. 2 in Best for Vets community college rankings

TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College has risen to the rank of second-best community college in the nation for its service to veterans, according to Military Times magazine.

The new, 2019 ranking improves upon the third-place position NMC achieved for 2018 among two-year colleges. NMC was also the only Michigan two-year college to make the publication's Best for Vets list, published this week.

To determine the rankings, Military Times evaluated five factors veteran students say are important to them: culture, student support, cost and financial aid, policies and academic quality. Data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments as well as three federal education sources were also factored into the comprehensive assessment. Culture, weighted as the most significant category in all scores, was NMC's strongest category.

NMC established an office of Military and Veteran Services in 2012. Led by Point of Contact Scott Herzberg, it works with the larger college community to foster an environment that leads to veteran success year-round.

“The men and women who have chosen to serve our country deserve our respect, our gratitude and our support,” Herzberg told Military Times. “They have invested time, energy, and passion with their whole being to do a job few in our nation now do. It’s our turn to serve them."

Here are some of the investments NMC has made to earn the No. 2 ranking:

• Veteran-specific application and orientation, personal campus tour
• Veterans lounge
• Active chapter of Student Veterans of America
• Professional development offered to faculty, staff and advisers on how best to work with veterans
• Veterans Resource section in Osterlin Library—to educate civilians as well
• No-interest loans to veterans waiting for processing of their benefit checks, so they may enroll immediately
• NMC makes up the difference between military pay and NMC pay for reservist employees who are called to active duty. Family enrollment in all benefits also continues
• In-state (out of district) tuition rates for active duty military and their dependents, regardless of their legal residence (existed since 2008)
• Veteran Lending Library to save textbook costs
• Ongoing efforts to convert military service into academic credit
• Hiring our Heroes spring job fair at the Hagerty Center
• Red-white-and-blue cords to wear at Commencement, diplomas granted to service dogs

About five percent of NMC students are veterans or active-duty military.

Release Date: October 23, 2018

For more information:

Scott Herzberg
POC, Military and Veterans Affairs
(231) 995-2526
sherzberg@nmc.edu