NMC tuition competitive with other Pacific colleges By Marian A. Maraya

Compared to other two-year colleges in the Pacific, the Northern Marianas College offers a fairly competitive tuition rate, according to an in-house study commissioned by the college.

Based on a survey of nine Pacific community colleges, NMC ranked 3rd among colleges offering the lowest resident student tuition rate at $65 per credit.

The College of the Marshall Islands is recorded to have the highest tuition rate for its resident students at $95 per credit.

Other state colleges in Hawaii, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia offer an average tuition ranging from $40 to $60 per credit.

“This reveals how competitive our college is to other institutions. We belong to the higher end but we’re still competitive,” said NMC Development and Alumni Relations Director Tony Deleon Guerrero.

NMC’s tuition rate for nonresident students is twice the amount offered for resident students at $130 per credit.

In this area, NMC is relatively still at the higher end level of the community colleges tuition rate spectrum, with the highest noted for the Honolulu Community College at $244 per credit.

The study entitled Review and Analysis of NMC’s Tuition and Fees Structures was developed to improve the college’s revenue generating capacity and overall financial stability.

It was conducted by Mr. Guerrero, former dean of professional programs, and NMC Business Instructor Ray Basa last year as a comprehensive approach to analyzing the financial resources of the college based on its overall institutional mission.

After an in depth look at the comparative figures, Mr. Guerrero has recommended to NMC president Jack Sablan that if the college were to continue its long-term success and achieve greater financial stability, it must further develop and implement innovative marketing strategies.

This, according to one of the study’s authors, is needed to continuously improve the enrollment participation rates in the college’s institutional programs.

Mr. Guerrero had recommended to the president and to the Board of Regents that the college primarily uphold its Transfer Mission by continuing to encourage local students into spending their first two years of college at NMC and later transferring to a higher university for the completion of their degree.

He added that the board and the college’s leaders should further enforce and enliven NMC’s long-standing missions such as its career and workplace preparation, basic skills and developmental education, continuing education, and community service work force training.