Northern Michigan University students pose for a photo at Fall Fest last week. (Journal photo by Antonio Anderson)

MARQUETTE– With the first two weeks of the fall semester starting, Michigan Tech University and Northern Michigan University have completed their 10 day enrollment reports and both show a similar student count but differ with percentages of growth.

Michigan Tech has seen a 6% increase from last year and NMU with a 0.3% decline yet both have total student counts near 7,400.

“That’s down a bit from last fall, but we have to remember that fall 2023’s class was up nearly 10%, so seeing three large freshman classes in a row is great news,” said Jason Nicholas, assistant provost and director of Institutional Effectiveness and University Strategic Planning in a press release from NMU. “We are entering a period where demographic challenges will amplify over the coming years, so having stable enrollment numbers is very important.”

Keeping with the trend of the past few years, the first to fifth semester student retention hit an all-time high this year; which originally warranted the construction of the campus apartments on Presque Isle Avenue.

Demand for Global Campus offerings, particularly in areas such as social work, education and applied sports psychology, has led to strong growth in online programs. One of the larger departments that has seen growth is NMU’s Theatre and Dance department which has seen a startling rise of freshmen.

“Seeing continued growth in departments such as Theater and Dance, social work, criminal justice, education and psychology provides a stable footing by which we can continue to explore new offerings and build upon existing programs,” Nicholas said, in the press release. “Having a broad portfolio of traditional, online, graduate, and vocational and technical programs across many different degrees means there’s always something NMU has to offer folks to achieve their academic goals.”

Antonio Anderson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. His email address is aanderson@miningjournal.net.