NMC remains on status warning

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges has kept the Northern Marianas College on warning status despite a recent trip of top NMC officials to California to meet with WASC officials on pressing college issues.

The college was placed on warning status in January this year due to its failure to submit annual audit reports on time in the past few years.

In a statement, NMC acting president Antonio Deleon Guerrero said “the Commission acted to keep the college on a warning status” and required it to submit a progress report by Oct. 15, 2004.

He said several working committees have been formed to address WASC’s recommendations.

“The college administration is working diligently to ensure that we meet all the Standards of Accreditation, as well as in addressing the new standards regarding student outcomes. We have formed several working committees charged with the task of producing results that both address the Commission recommendations as well as improve our institutional effectiveness, ” said Deleon Guerrero.

He said both he and NMC Board of Regents chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds are strongly committed to addressing the recommendations of the commission. The two officials were the ones who met with WASC officials early last month.

In an interview following the meeting, King-Hinds said that, while she was optimistic about NMC’s overall standing now, she could not tell whether the accrediting commission would soon lift the college’s status warning.

“There’s no assurance that the warning would be removed soon,” the board chair had said.

She had noted that Barbara Beno, WASC’s executive director for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, was “personally impressed with the progress” at NMC.

During the meeting, the two college officials reported that NMC received $600,000 in new funding from the CNMI government to prevent a budget shortfall this year.

The team also reported the college’s decision to put on hold the Pacific Gateway project in La Fiesta for lack of funds.

College authorities said that WASC is most concerned about NMC’s financial standing in relation to its acquisition of the La Fiesta complex.

King-Hinds earlier said that WASC officials asked more questions about La Fiesta.

“Their main concern is NMC’s finances. They query our ability to operate two campuses,” she said.

King-Hinds said that WASC accepted all the reports submitted by NMC last month, including a revised progress report on audits and financial condition, the revised Focused Midterm Report, and the report of the evaluation team that visited the college in late April 2004.

“We are pleased that WASC accepted all our reports and did not place the institution on probation. However, the fact that we are still on warning status tells us we have a lot of work to do to get NMC to where it not only meets WASC standards but also exceeds the expectations of the Commission. The BOR is aware of the areas of concern that must be addressed and we hope to begin tackling the issues before the next WASC visit in October. It is also important to thank the dedicated staff and faculty who worked diligently to meet the expectations of WASC,” said King-Hinds.

Deleon Guerrero said that Beno wrote recently commending the college for its recent efforts to improve the clarity and accuracy of its reports to the Commission.

“Professional self-regulation is the most effective means of assuring integrity, effectiveness, and quality,” Beno had said.