Olsen Emphasizes Enrollment at University Forum

At his first university forum on April 13, NMU President Chris Olsen identified the top three priorities he plans to address: enrollment, which he emphasized is the "most immediate challenge"; enhancing community relationships; and fundraising, as NMU prepares to launch the public phase of a comprehensive fundraising campaign in early 2027.

"Everyone on campus should be clear about how imperative enrollment is, and understand our priority initiatives moving forward as we look to stabilize and increase overall enrollment numbers in the next few years," Olsen said. "As a lot of you know, most regional public universities have lost significant enrollment, many of them more than 50%. Northern has beaten that trend so far, which is fantastic, and we can continue to do that if we really make it our mission to focus, commit, and apply all of our creativity to the challenges that we have. It's a dramatically different world in terms of recruiting and enrollment, even compared with just a few years ago."

Olsen, who assumed the Northern presidency in January, said one of the reasons he was interested in applying was the university's relationship to the Marquette-area community and the entire Upper Peninsula.

"We want and need to be good partners because Northern is a critical part of the region, but we in turn rely on the region's support and collaboration to grow and succeed," he added. "I've had a lot of meetings so far with business, community and school leaders, as well as service clubs. It's really clear to me that they respect and appreciate Northern, and they're eager to find new ways to partner with us. That's fantastic, and not always the case with universities embedded in cities this size."

A fundraising campaign cabinet, which will provide leadership over the next three years, will be finalized over the summer and early fall. The campaign will provide an opportunity to refocus alumni and friends on NMU's special qualities, Olsen said. He added that the campaign priorities will align with the strategic plan in terms of student success, faculty excellence and high-impact practices. He has proposed some tweaks to language in the "Our Compass" strategic plan, in part to address enrollment more directly, but no significant revisions to strategies or goals at this point.

Olsen pointed out NMU successes related to the plan over the past year: the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification; completion of a study showing NMU's regional impact; the Evergreen initiative, which will enable non-traditional learners to upskill and advance throughout their lives by offering on-demand, flexible options tailored to their professional and personal goals; continued significant progress toward sustainability goals; and the Strengthening Pathways North grant-funded, multi-year project to build a lasting infrastructure to promote Native American student success.

Gavin Leach, NMU executive vice president for Finance and Administration, addressed two factors contributing to an anticipated budget deficit over the next few years: a projected enrollment decline of 2.2-3.5%, based primarily on current freshman and transfer orientation numbers; and a state appropriations outlook that "is not very positive." Only the governor's executive budget, which includes no increase for universities' base operations, some one-time funding and a lower tuition restraint cap, has been presented so far. House and Senate versions will follow before a final higher education budget emerges from a conference committee.

While Leach said both the enrollment and budget situations are "very fluid" at this early stage, NMU is preparing for likely declines in both by accepting applications from qualifying employee groups for a voluntary buyout incentive plan.

Provost Anne Dahlman outlined the First Four Weeks, a retention initiative that will begin this fall. She describes it as a coordinated effort to identify students who need extra support in the earliest stage of their NMU education. Dahlman said another plan geared toward recruitment is to expand the Honors Program significantly, from 100 new students per year to 300, "while maintaining the academic rigor and sense of community that are cornerstones of the program."

Jeff Korpi, associate vice president for Northern Student Experience, said NMU has had success drawing students from national markets-Florida, Texas and the East Coast-that hadn't typically been targeted. He addressed NMU's need to respond effectively to the following recruitment challenges: Michigan's free community college model, which impacts freshman and sophomore enrollment at four-year institutions; universities from lower Michigan and other Midwestern states now recruiting in the U.P. market; and the need for strategic communication targeting specific pockets of students based on factors other than geography.

"The challenges are real, but there is great potential for us to build on the historic mission of access and opportunity," said Olsen in his closing statement. "The university went through a recent period of rising budgets that allowed for a lot of investment. We're now at a point where we need to be a bit more careful. But we shouldn't lose sight of the deep strengths we have here in terms of great programs, world-class faculty and staff, amazing facilities that are in the top tier nationwide, and a uniquely desirable location near Lake Superior."

View the forum in its entirety here.