NMC still has no chief financial administrative officer

The commission had placed NMC’s accreditation on continued probation status, citing five concerns that still need to be resolved. Majority of these unresolved concerns are related to financial planning and stability in the college and the team had recommended that NMC integrate its financial planning with institutional planning and recruit a permanent CFAO to ensure integral financial control at the college.

NMC has until October 2012 to address all these concerns or its accreditation will be revoked.
In a board meeting in February, the Board of Regents voted to reinstate the CFAO position, citing its critical role in meeting accreditation requirements. Just a month prior to that meeting, CFAO position was dissolved by the management, creating in its place a dean of Administration that will handle the CFAO’s responsibilities.

The board instructed the college to put back the CFAO post and hire a qualified candidate as soon as possible. Since the February meeting, no announcement has been made yet relating to the CFAO post and NMC president Sharon Y. Hart plans to discuss this with the board’s budget and finance committee.

“The college has not as yet filled the vacancy left by the CFO. Dr. Hart will be discussing this position in more detail with the board’s budget and finance committee, especially in light of the college’s very limited financial resources, and the fact that our recently-named dean of Administration, David Attao, and other in-house staff have assumed the responsibilities of this position,” the college said in a statement to Saipan Tribune.

Hart stressed that the limited budget allocated by the Legislature for the college in fiscal year 2012 compelled NMC to leave some positions vacant.

“We are currently reviewing all vacant positions and identifying ones that align with the priorities by the NMC Board of Regents,” said Hart.

For fiscal year 2013, NMC submitted a budget request of $8 million. NMC said the amount requested represents the bare bones minimum to ensure that the college maintains the high quality of instruction and student services it provides its students.

The same statement issued yesterday included that of Board of Regents chair Juan T. Lizama regarding the budget submission. “Equally important, it will allow the college to meet accreditation standards and requirements,” he said.

According to Hart, while enrollment continues to increase, the college’s share as a percentage of the CNMI budget has continued to shrink dramatically.