Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

land-grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

in Brimley, Michigan. It is chartered by the federally recognized

Bay Mills Indian Community The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC) (Ojibwe: Gnoozhekaaning, lit. "Place of the Pike"), is an Indian reservation forming the land base of one of the many federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie bands of Ojibwe. The largest section of the reservati ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

with a total enrollment of approximately 500 on-campus and online students. The students come primarily from Michigan's eastern Upper Peninsula and are 60% Native American. BMCC is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), a community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations, and a land-grant college. BMCC was created in response to the higher education needs of American Indians. BMCC generally serves geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing education beyond the high school level. It provides online classes to a community beyond its geographic area. BMCC offers free tuition to U.S. Federally recognized Tribal Members. BMCC also authorizes charter schools in the state of Michigan.

History

BMCC is Michigan's first accredited Tribal College located on a reservation. It was designated as a land grant institution by th
Equity in Educational Land Grant Status Act of 1994
Its educational programs support the Anishinaabek Community, as well as the Sault Ste. Marie bands of the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

. The college began as a vocational program in response to the economic development needs of the seven Native American communities which were initially served. The program was funded in 1981 by the Department of Education. In 1984 the college was chartered by the Bay Mills Indian Community under the

Tribal colleges and universities Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, category of higher education, Minority Serving Institution, minority-serving institutions in the United States defined in the Higher Educati ...

provisions of the

Higher Education Act of 1965 The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) () was legislation signed into Law of the United States, United States law on November 8, 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. Johnson chose Texas State University (t ...

. It is a nonprofit educational corporation and has been declared 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt by the IRS. Since its establishment in 1981 with an enrollment of eleven students, the college has grown to currently serve over seven hundred students annually through on-campus, off-campus, and online programming. In 1994, the college was designated a

land-grant college A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, or a beneficiary ...

alongside 31 other tribal colleges. In 1994, the college was designated a

alongside 31 other tribal colleges. Control of BMCC is vested in a Board of Regents, which selects the president and establishes overall institutional policy. Although the college specializes in programs for American Indians, who represent approximately 60% of the annual student enrollment, its doors are open to all people who want to benefit from the educational process. BMCC is dedicated to providing academic and personal enrichment programs to Native Americans and residents of their neighboring communities. BMCC uses its technological infrastructure to reach beyond the physical borders of Michigan, offering online instruction throughout North America.

Images

File:Michael Parish Administraion Center.jpg, Michael Parish Administration Center File:Bay Mills Community College Library.jpg, Bay Mills Community College Library

Academics

BMCC offers associate degrees, certificates, and diploma programs. It also offers an online bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education.American Indian Higher Education Consortium

Partners

BMCC participates in the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers Articulation Agreement (MACRAO) which provides BMCC students a transfer process of general education credits between public and private community colleges and universities in Michigan.

External links

*Bay Mills Community College web page: http://www.bmcc.edu/
"Bay Mills Community College"
Carnegie Foundation
Bureau of Indian Education National Directory

External links

Official website

References

{{authority control American Indian Higher Education Consortium Universities and colleges established in 1981 Education in Chippewa County, Michigan Community colleges in Michigan 1981 establishments in Michigan Native American history of Michigan Two-year colleges in the United States Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan