NMC accreditation team presents recommendations

The 12 members of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges visiting accreditation team presented their oral report to the Northern Marianas College community Thursday afternoon through team chair Dr. Guy Lease, president of Lake Tahoe Community College in California.

Lease told the assembled students, faculty, and staff that the purpose of the report was to share the team’s preliminary findings and recommendations for industrial improvement for both the associate and baccalaureate degree programs of NMC.

He thanked all those who had assisted the team in its work on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota and pointed out that team members conducted more than 60 meetings with individuals and groups involving students, faculty, staff, and administrators. The officials and instructors visited classrooms and labs, public elementary schools with NMC student teachers, and even with acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez and several legislators and administration officials.

The California educator said the group began studying NMC weeks ago, reading the institution’s current 300-plus page self-study report, with he called “unusually candid,” as well as the college catalog, prior visiting mission reports and self-studies, and numerous other accreditation-related documents.

Lease, however, noted that, although NMC committed to do so 16 years ago, the college still has not established a process for regular program review and assessment, saying the group experienced “deep disappointment” that the institution has not made significant progress in doing so.

He pointed out that the team was impressed by the college’s student services personnel whom he said were going “above and beyond” their regular duties to establish a unique and caring learning for students. Lease added the NMC School of Education had established student learning outcomes (a major accreditation to consideration in assessing academic programs) for all its courses and was making a significant attempt to integrate them in all its educational endeavors.

The team chair said that, although some legislators believe the college has strayed from its mission in some areas, much of the problem is due to a need to better communicate college activities to the Legislature while paying better attention to members concerns.

“You’re doing too good a job in too many areas for this to be a problem,” Lease said.

The accreditation team leader then presented a list of recommendations the group will present to the WASC junior and senior commissions for consideration when assessing NMC’s application for reaffirmation of its accreditation:

• Establish a revised plan to integrate a shared vision of the institution’s future which will guide resource, needs planning and resource allocation;

• “Reiterate with utmost seriousness” the 2000 recommendation that NMC establish and maintain a coordinated, systematic process to review program effectiveness, including learning outcomes for all programs, and objective measures for student performance;

• Establish equality assessment for instruction through distance education and evaluate alternate delivery systems;

• Develop measures to integrate student learning outcomes into program development and assessment and act on assessment findings’

• Establish a plan for the use of technology in instruction, evaluate its effectiveness, and ensure it has adequate support;

• Realign budget priorities to reflect changes in funding availability; and

• Develop and implement a plan for the renovation of college facilities.
The team also had specific recommendations for the NMC School of Education (SOE):

• Clarify student learning outcome evidence in program design’

• Monitor workload restrictions for faculty;

• Recognize work on grant and program development as part of faculty workload;

• Conduct a Board of Regents review of the baccalaureate program within the campus learning environment;

• Ensure the faculty works to build a positive working relationship with the various levels of the public school system’

• Review the use of distance education in SOE instruction.

Under WASC rules, the team conducted no question and answer session, nor was Lease allowed to leave a copy of his remarks.

Following the team’s oral report, the members exited the college meeting room en route to returning to their homes in California. (PR)