About Bay Mills Community College

Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) is situated on the southeastern shore of Lake Superior, on the Bay Mills Indian Reservation, which is located in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula. The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC) is five miles northwest of Brimley, Michigan and twenty miles west of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

The college began as a vocational program in response to the economic development needs of seven Native American communities which were initially served by the program funded in 1981 by Department of Education. In 1984 the college was chartered by the Bay Mills Indian Community under the Tribally Controlled Community Colleges Act. Since its establishment in 1981 with an enrollment of eleven students, the college has grown to currently serve over seven hundred students on campus, off campus sites, and through its virtual campus, each year.

BMCC is Michigan's first fully accredited (www.higherlearningcommission.org) Tribal College and was designated as a Land Grant Institution by the Equity in Educational Land Grant Status Act of 1994. BMCC is chartered by the Bay Mills Indian Community as a nonprofit educational corporation and has been declared 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt by the Internal Revenue Service. Control is vested in a Board of Regents, which selects the president and establishes overall institutional policy. BMCC is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.

As the state's first fully accredited tribal college, BMCC serves the now twelve federally recognized tribes of Michigan. In addition to the Bay Mill Indian Community, BMCC has been working with all of the federally recognized tribes of the state with the goal of setting up academic programs. Although the college specializes in programs for American Indians, who represent approximately 60% of the annual student enrollment, its doors are open to all people who want to benefit from the educational process. BMCC is dedicated to providing academic and personal enrichment programs to Native Americans and residents of their neighboring communities.

In recent years, BMCC has developed an impressive, cutting edge technological infrastructure; which has allowed BMCC to reach beyond the borders of Michigan and offer on-line instruction throughout North America.