McPhetres blasts WASC’s Beno’s ‘improper’ behavior

Former Northern Marianas College regent Agnes McPhetres blasted Western Association of Schools and Colleges chair Dr. Barbara Beno for allegedly overstepping her role as a member of the accrediting commission.

McPhetres took issue with Beno’s “judgmental” comments relating to management issues at the college.

In a four-page letter addressed to Dr. Lurelean B. Gaines, chair of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, McPhetres described Beno’s comments as “unbecoming.” The former regent cited several instances of Beno’s alleged lack of tact in dealing with the NMC board.

“In her letters to the NMC president, Dr. Beno has overstepped her role as representative of the commission in her dealings with member institution by being judgmental and acting in a manner unbecoming of a spokesperson for such a distinguished body. It is my opinion that as the key representative of the commission, Dr. Beno should convey at all times impartiality, objectivity and tactfulness when she deals with member institutions,” McPhetres told the ACCJC chair.

On at least two occasions, she said, the WASC official drew conclusions about interactions between the NMC president and board members without bothering to confirm whether what NMC president Carmen Fernandez reported was factual.

“My concern is that decisions about NMC are being made on faulty evidence and that at some point in the future, when the actual situation at NMC is brought out in the open, irreparable harm will have come to NMC and it is the commission that is going to be greatly embarrassed,” she added.

McPhetres resigned from the board early last month.

She insists that her letter to ACCJC is not that of a disgruntled former NMC board member but as a concerned private citizen “who cares deeply about the quality of postsecondary education in the CNMI.”

Saipan Tribune learned that in a letter dated March 15, 2008, the then chair of the Board of Regents, Joey San Nicolas, was forced to respond to Beno’s accusation about the board’s interference and micromanagement of the institution

During Beno’s visit to Saipan on April 21-22 last year, the board expected to meet with her to address accusations regarding the board’s “interference” in the management of NMC and to get a better understanding of the body’s meaning of the terms “involvement” and “participation.”

Although the former board members did briefly met with Beno, McPhetres said the issue was never clarified.

On the same visit, the board wanted to accompany the visiting officials when they met with the governor and the Legislature. They, however, were told by Fernandez that Beno preferred not to have any member of the board in those meetings.

McPhetres found this “outrageous” and said that Beno should have been more sensitive to local political realities and laws governing the college.

In Beno’s letter to BOR chair Charles V. Cepeda on Feb. 26, 2009, the official scolded the board for its “misbehavior” in attempting to contact the Legislature about college matters, which undermines the ability of the college president in leading NMC effectively.

Beno’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by Saipan Tribune, indicated that “those governing members who cannot adhere to the standards…are better suited to forms of public service other than service on the governing board of an accredited college.”

McPhetres cited another incident in early February when Fernandez and Cepeda opted to call Beno first, instead of resolving the “management issues” raised by the faculty against Fernandez. As a result, Beno sent the board a letter chastising them for their inability to function effectively despite ample training.

“Let me assure the commission that since I became a board member in March 2008, the board has acted in a most professional manner, has been flexible with regard to their personal schedules, and has manifested exemplary commitment to the college—even to the point of giving up their honorarium,” McPhetres told ACCJC.

She inquired if the commission has a formal policy or procedure on how its president communicates with member institutions or if he or she is allowed free rein without checks and balances.

“The manner in which Dr. Beno has dealt with an individual board member has become a serious distraction that prevents the concerned parties from addressing the heart of the problem at NMC,” McPhetres.