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MARQUETTE -- NMU is faced with a large proposed budget cut from the state of seven million dollars.  The proposed cut was news that surprised NMU President Les Wong.

"We certainly understand the challenges in front of the governor, but the students that we're educating, they're part of Michigan’s future,” said Wong.  “I would have thought that there might have been a little bit more awareness of an investment in students."

At a community forum Wednesday afternoon, President Wong spelled out how the university is going to handle the proposed cut.

First, the university has proposed increasing tuition.  This would bring in an additional $4.6 million.  Because tuition for resident, non-resident, and graduate students is different, the easiest way to explain the increase would be a roughly $270 increase per semester for an estimated two-thirds of the students.  This would mean some students would pay more, others less.

The university will also be experimenting with a 4 day/10-hour week over the summer for students and professors.  That change would save approximately $50,000 in energy costs.  If this schedule proves to be successful, the university could make it a permanent change for next fall.

And NMU has proposed changing health insurance plans for employees that would raise deductibles and co-pays.  This would save the university two million dollars.

"People aren't going to be happy with some of the cuts and the directions and so on; I won't be,” said NMU History Department Head Russell Magnaghi.  “But it's a serious situation."    

NMU will be meeting with labor groups about the change to health insurance plans April 26.  They hope to have a response from the union groups by May 1.  If the union groups do not accept the changes, NMU will have to look at other budget alternatives.

Now, if all these budget cutbacks don't save enough, 29 faculty and staff positions could also be on the chopping block.