NMC still needs to turn in its status report

Less than two months to an accreditation decision, the Northern Marianas College still needs to submit another report this month to reaffirm its ties with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

NMC Board of Regents chair Charles V. Cepeda confirmed with Saipan Tribune yesterday that the college will soon submit to the commission a status report highlighting the college’s accomplishments in resolving concerns raised by WASC.

NMC submitted on April 1 its compliance report for the two remaining WASC recommendations. This was on top of two reports submitted in October 2008 and March 2009.

Cepeda said the status report is not “fully required” by WASC.

“This is not an additional requirement for NMC. The document is a supplemental report to give the commission updates on where we stand at this time after addressing all the recommendations,” Cepeda told Saipan Tribune.

The April report was followed by a team visit but the board chairman emphasized that the report had nothing to do with the visit.

The fate of NMC’s accreditation would be decided in a June assembly of the commission where NMC president Dr. Carmen Fernandez is expected to provide a verbal update on the college’s status.

Cepeda described the status report as a “summary” and “reaffirmation” of what the institution has addressed less than two years after being placed on show-cause status.

“We want to reaffirm what NMC has done for its accreditation…and that we’re doing the job,” he said.

Compared to previous accreditation reports, this last document may not need the formal adoption of the board, Cepeda said.

The status report will contain, among others, the impact of accreditation work on NMC staff, students, and the college as a whole.

“The commission wants to know what we gained out of it, what learning experience it provided the students and the staff…and how the shared governance issue helped in the resolution of the team recommendations,” he said.

NMC was placed on show-cause status in February 2008 after two of the six concerns cited by the commission were left “unaddressed.”

Saipan Tribune learned that the April 1 report provided details and examples of the college’s compliance with integrating planning, program review, and budgeting as well as institutionalizing the program review process.