Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) trustees will discuss the college's 2017 budget and consider entering into closed session to review ongoing union negotiations at their 5:30pm meeting tonight (Monday) at NMC's Oleson Center.

Vice President of Finance and Administration Vicki Cook will go through key areas of NMC's proposed budget for the next fiscal year, including tuition, faculty salaries, and capital projects. Student tuition is expected to jump 7.6 percent next year - the largest increase since at least 2012. The hike means in-district tuition will go from $96.35 to $103.70 per credit hour, while out-of-district tuition will go from $190.80 to $205.30 per credit hour. Out-of-state tuition will increase from $248.75 to $267.65 per credit hour.

Due to ongoing union negotiations with the Michigan Education Association (MEA), there are no changes in faculty wages reflected in NMC's upcoming budget. "Any adjustments in faculty compensation will be determined once we reach a settlement of a collective bargaining agreement for the faculty union," Cook noted in a memo to trustees. The board will vote to go into a closed session tonight to review those negotiations, as trustees have done at the last several board meetings.

Trustees tonight will also consider authorizing spending $123,000 to replace 17 heat pumps in the University Center, entering into job training agreements with nine local companies, and applying for a $30,000 grant for the Dennos Museum Center from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.