NMC Board Approves FY2027 Budget

The Northern Marianas College Board of Regents addressed the college’s financial engine, approving the administration’s FY2027 Operations Budget Request as forwarded by the Fiscal and Finance Committee during its meeting yesterday.

Underpinning the operations budget, which depends heavily on tuition and fee collections, is a steady recovery in student enrollment. After a challenging stretch that saw full-time equivalent student counts fall below the 1,000-mark, current data from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness indicates that recovery is underway. Enrollment has already rebounded to 1,052 full-time equivalent students, putting the campus within striking distance of its 1,100 targets before second-session registrations even conclude.

Interim President Frankie Eliptico detailed an aggressive enrollment roadmap coordinated with Academic Dean Charlotte Cepeda. The administration is pursuing targeted outreach to high school graduates, non-traditional adult learners, and government employees, backed by tailored financial aid and scholarship options. Building on current momentum, the college aims to push past 1,200 full-time equivalent students by spring 2027, ultimately working toward an institutional goal of 1,300 by fall 2027.

Board Chair Jesse Tudela commended the faculty and staff for engineering the turnaround, observing that climbing back from sub-1,000 numbers toward 1,300 represents a remarkable operational recovery that directly strengthens the Commonwealth's future workforce.

Even with student numbers rising, the college continues to plan around external fiscal uncertainties. The central government’s broader appropriations measure, which contains an estimated $4 million baseline allocation for the college alongside a potential revolving fund provision, remains under review in the Governor’s office.

Because central appropriations rarely cover full personnel costs, NMC relies on its operations fund to cover essential institutional commitments. These include utilities, facility security, campus sanitation, enterprise software licenses, and supplemental payroll support.

To insulate academic programs against legislative revenue adjustments, Vice Chair Tenorio moved to approve the FY2027 operations budget with explicit flexibility, granting the administration authority to reprogram operational dollars toward personnel if final government allocations fall short.

The measure passed unanimously with affirmative votes from Chair Tudela, Vice Chair Tenorio, Regent Sablan, and Regent Mike Evangelista. With key protections codified and enrollment climbing, the regents closed the session reaffirming their primary objective which is keeping the college financially stable, technologically resilient, and fully equipped to serve its students.