Other universities have leadership programs, but Northern Michigan University is the only university in the U.S. that packs community engagement, diversity awareness, leadership development and real-world experience into one life-changing program. View our Mission and Vision.

After you attend a 45-minute orientation session, we will upload your information, and you will be free to log hours from that semester on as long as you are registered as an NMU student.

No, you have until you graduate from NMU.

Superior Edge participants have six months to log an activity.

You are not allowed to log back hours. You can start logging hours once you attend a Superior Edge orientation.

No, only the hours obtained while enrolled as an NMU student count.

Yes, you can work towards as many edges as you want once you have attended a Superior Edge orientation.

Unfortunately, you aren’t able to double count hours.

Keep a running total during the week and then log the total hours at the end of the week will be the easiest.

Yes, if your job has something to do with your major or minor, you can count it towards the Real World Edge.  If you’re a supervisor or manager at your job, you can count those hours towards the Leadership Edge.  

It depends upon your role.  Is it a leadership position, pertinent to your major or minor, or is it a club or student organization that takes you outside your own comfort zone for diversity?  If so, then it would.

Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern.  It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a community to solve a problem or interact with the institutions of representative democracy.  (Pew Charitable Trusts)  Some examples of civic engagement include:  attending or working on community/political campaigns; government, ASNMU, non-profit, or board (i.e., NMU Board of Trustee, etc.) meetings; attending public hearings; serving on a jury; working at an election, etc.  To see what civic engagement opportunities we have available now, please click here.

All characteristics which make people different from each other (something outside of your comfort zone).  Relating to those outside the groups to which you belong (i.e., age, ethnicity, socioeconomic class/income, gender, physical abilities/qualities, mental abilities/qualities, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, gender expression, educational background, geographic location, marital status, parental status, work experience, housing locale, etc.).  Are you looking for some possible opportunities?  If so, click here to find out more.

Theory and ethics must be learned in a formal setting such as a class, a presentation, a workshop (in the description it will indicate if it counts), or through training.  Ethics refers to learning about ethically leading or ethics in certain sectors of professional activities/jobs.  Examples of this could be Live Learn Lead, job training, or ethics classes such as nursing ethics, business ethics, ethics in teaching, etc. Theory refers to learning different and specific types of leadership theories such as servant leadership, democratic leadership, etc.  Examples of this could be participating in Live Learn Lead, workshops about leadership theory, or classes concentrating on leadership and types of ways to lead.

Once you have completed an edge, you will be e-mailed questions that need to be answered either in a written reflection paper or you can schedule an interview with one of our staff members to answer these questions. If you would prefer to schedule an interview, please e-mail edge@nmu.edu with the days/times you are available.

Please call the Superior Edge office at 906-227-6543 or e-mail edge@nmu.edu.

Absolutely!  We encourage you to keep logging hours.  Once you graduate, print out your logs to take with you.