Schools with like characteristics in various areas - size, enrollment, location, and other factors - are considered peer institutions. By comparing our data with the data of these institutions, distinctions between areas where NMU excels and where improvements are needed become apparent. A list of Northern Michigan University's peer institutions follows, each item a link to the school's institutional research webpage.

State Peer Institutions

Central Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Ferris State University
Grand Valley State University
Lake Superior State University
Oakland University
Saginaw Valley State University
University of Michigan - Dearborn
University of Michigan - Flint

Regional Peer Institutions

Saginaw Valley State University
Minnesota State University - Moorhead
University of Minnesota - Duluth
Winona State University
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
University of Wisconsin - Stout

NMU also participates in or leverages a number of other sources for benchmarking.  Those include:

The Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange- CSRDE is coordinated by the Center for Institutional Data Exchange and Analysis (C-IDEA) at the University of Oklahoma.

The National Center for Education Statistics - NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.  NMU is required to submit data to the NCES via the Integrated Post-Secondary Educational Data System (IPEDS).

Center for Educational Performance and Information - CEPI serves as the agency responsible for collecting, securely managing, and reporting education data in Michigan.