LANSING — Northwestern Michigan College is requesting $8 million in state funding to consolidate its student service offerings into one place.
Officials say the investment could help students see their college education through.
“Our biggest challenge right now is that those many offices are spread across several buildings, and it just — it’s difficult when a student comes in needs help with one thing, and then they have to be sent someplace else,” said Todd Neibauer, vice president of Student Services for NMC.
Neibauer says that having a centralized service center would help ensure students can easily access the help they may need.
“The advantage to having that space, the student can walk in and get all their questions answered in one visit is really, really important to helping them continue on their path, make sure they’re successful,” he said.
The Osterlin Building currently hosts a majority of student services, including academic and career advising, disability support and tutoring.
The building used to house the college’s library, but that space is now sitting unused.
Neibauer says that the new space would host financial aid, admissions and records and registration, all of which are located in other buildings.
“They’re investing a lot to come back to school, and we want to make sure that they can fulfill that goal when they come here,” he said.
Bella Gibson, a junior who just finished two years at NMC, says that the college’s offerings helped her stay committed to her education.
“Truly, I don’t think that I would have been able to be successful without the services that are offered to us and the accessibility of them,” she said.
Gibson says that for students in need of support, having all offerings in one building could make it easier to take advantage of those services.
“I’ve found that making appointments can be difficult, and sometimes they’ll send you in between buildings, and it kind of makes you not want to even try,” she said.
Gibson also says the new space could help foster connections between students through community events and offering a more relaxed gathering place.
“I find a lot of the time in our other buildings, things are so academically-focused, and in the library, you’re expected to be quiet. I think that it would be really good to have a designated social space,” she said.
The funding would be finalized later this year if included in the state budget.