67 percent of students shun NMC

A study conducted by the Northern Marianas College advertising class among five private and public schools in Saipan revealed that 67 percent of the 271 students surveyed are not interested in pursuing higher education at NMC.

The students polled came from Marianas High School, Mount Carmel High School, Marianas Baptist Academy, Grace Christian Academy and NMC.

This survey was a class project of students taking up Fundamentals of Advertising under Prof. Rik Villegas. The project aims to help school officials in marketing the College to local and international students.

According to Mr. Villegas, two sets of survey were conducted by eight students in order to get as much views among the student population on how they view NMC.

Of the 67 percent who said they would not be attending NMC, 57 percent said it simply lacks what other Colleges offer; 33 percent just want to leave the island, and the other 10 percent did not specify their responses or have other plans.

Based on the survey of international students attending NMC at present, 58 percent found NMC’s standards okay and will recommend it to others, 36 percent said they will not recommend it to others because it is below average, and 6 percent did not make any comment.

But another study conducted by the same group focusing only on students studying in Marianas High School, Mount Carmel and NMC, showed that 60 percent of the 350 surveyed said they are interested in pursuing further studies at the College. Thirty-nine percent said they will not go to NMC and one percent remains undecided.

Of the 350 respondents, 27 percent said they would like to pursue a degree in the field of business and hospitality, 15 percent would like to major in trade and technical field, 10 percent would like to go into public safety administration, 9 percent in liberal arts and 8 percent in nursing program.

Among the criticisms cited by students about the College include poor quality of education and instructors, inadequate courses offered, high tuition and excessive fees.

Working students find the course schedule inconvenient. They also complained of lack of four-year courses, government support, resources in the library, financial aid for on-island students, information on what NMC could offer to them.

Amid the inadequacies cited by the students, many still believe that NMC is a good place to start higher education, friendly and secured. They said easy access to visa for international students, availability of computer classes and being part of the United States are among the advantages of studying in the island’s only higher learning institution.

To be able to reach as much number of students and inform them about what NMC offers, the study recommended that utilizing distance education and radio station can help a lot in minimizing cost of advertising. Video production showing the campus, student activities, classroom facilities will also help inform the students on how
NMC could assist them in their career advancement.