Courtesy Photo Alpena Community College President Don MacMaster is seen in this provided photo.

Alpena Community College recently hosted Chronicle of Higher Education reporter David Jesse for a campus visit to discuss the current state of higher education in Michigan. Widely acknowledged to be among the most informed observers of the higher education landscape nationally, Jesse launched his career at the Detroit Free Press where he coined the term “higher education desert” for regions such as Northeast Lower Michigan–places where access to post-secondary education is perceived to be scarce or non-existent. A local observer pointed out at that time that community colleges such as ACC represent a vital piece of post-secondary education in Michigan. In fact, according to 2025 data from the National Student Clearinghouse, community colleges in Michigan enrolled 156,117 students compared to 200,832 at public 4-year universities–43.7 percent of students enrolled at public colleges statewide are community college students. Jesse took the point with good humor and it spawned a productive dialogue that exists to this day around the joys and challenges of operating a community college in rural environments such as NE Lower Michigan.

During his presentation, Jesse noted humorously that it’s not useful for colleges to mentally reside at the intersection of gloom and doom. In other words, defeatism and negativity do no good. I couldn’t agree more. He then applied a one-word description to higher education in 2026, both at the state and national level: volatility. There are three primary drivers of this, Jesse noted.

Cost

A widespread perception exists that higher education costs too much. Some discernment on this broad perception can pay big dividends to students and their parents, however. ACC’s FY26 in-district tuition ($159) and mandatory fees ($20) mean that an in-district student could attend ACC for $179 per contact hour. Full-time for most programs is 15 hours per semester, or 30 hours per academic year. Some programs with extensive lab requirements such as Nursing or Utility Tech will require more than 30 contact hours per academic year, but 30 contact hours is a good baseline comparison. Multiply $179 per contact hour x 30 hours and in-district tuition and fees for one academic year at ACC is $5370. Compare that to one year of in-state tuition and fees at U-M ($18,346), MSU ($16,916), Michigan Tech ($19,874), CMU ($15,420), Ferris ($14,420), Grand Valley, ($16,122), Saginaw Valley ($13,680), and LSSU ($15,096), and you can see why cost-conscious transfer students ought to strongly consider attending their first two years at ACC. One year of tuition and fees at ACC ranges from 27 percent of the highest cost state

university to 39 percent of the least expensive four-year public university. ACC is affordable, in other words.

In addition to affordability, scholarships available through the Alpena Community College Foundation combined with federal Pell grant financial aid and state programs such as Reconnect and the Community College Guarantee make attending community college nearly tuition-free in many cases. Navigating financial aid can pay off in a big way for students with financial need who want to either transfer to a four-year college or obtain occupational skills and start a career. ACC is a quality launch point for both trajectories.

Enrollment declines

Enrollment data aggregated by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy shows that enrollment since 2010 has decreased dramatically at several universities led by Central Michigan University (-53%), Ferris (-36%), LSSU (-44%), Saginaw Valley (-33%) and Grand Valley (-8%). ACC’s FY26 fall semester enrollment of 1604 students was its highest since fall semester 2017. Why the decline overall? Jesse distilled these factors:

·Substantially fewer traditional high school graduates in the 18-22 year-old pool

· Fewer young men enrolling

· Aversion to debt

· A growing cultural perception that four-year college degrees, particularly liberal arts focused, don’t pay off in the workplace

The Value Proposition

Connected to the perception that college costs too much, the value proposition for colleges and universities has been under duress for some time. In his 2022 New York Times bestseller The College Scam, Charlie Kirk litigated the case this way:

Count 1: Colleges and Universities are Running a Scam

Count 2: A College Education is Ridiculously Overpriced

Count 3: Universities Have Become Obscenely Rich at Student and Taxpayer Expense

Count 4: Colleges Do Not Educate Anymore

Count 5: College Ruins the Ability to Think and Reason

Count 6: College Indoctrinates Students and Represses Speech

Count 7: Colleges and Universities Breed Violence and Hate

Count 8: Colleges and Universities have Been Infiltrated by Subversive Foreign Groups

Count 9: Colleges and Universities Have Unleashed Waves of Woke, Anti-American Activists

Count 10: Many Professors are Leftist Radicals Bent on Indoctrinating Students

As President of Alpena Community College going on my 11th year, I disagree that any of these indictments apply to ACC. I would argue, however, that in the court of public opinion ACC needs to demonstrate its value to students, K-12s, parents, the community, and employers every day. Fulfilling that mission is what keeps us going and striving to get better. It’s also a fair expectation that we focus on the most important thing–student success–and try not to waste time, energy, and resources fighting unproductive culture war skirmishes. Volatility, as David Jesse observed, is a sign of the times in higher education. Stability, its antidote, is a common good and not easily sustained. Coming up in 2027 on our 75th anniversary of serving the post-secondary educational aspirations of NE Lower Michigan, we believe our best days lie ahead. Let’s stay focused on building a sustainable future together.