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Fernandez named chair of NMC’s College Council
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Posted on Dec 30 2008
Northern Marianas College president Carmen Fernandez is the new chairperson of the College Council, although at yesterday’s Board of Regents meeting some regents raised concerns about her chairing the organization because the Council advices the college president.
Both NMC regents Agnes McPhetres and Elaine Orilla questioned Fernandez’s holding the position.
But Fernandez said it is common practice in many institutions and that the Council would still advice the NMC president.
“So its still in line with the concept of shared governance,” Fernandez said. “In a way its advantageous since the president is still part of the Council.”
Also, she said, the visiting officials from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges recommended the move during their November visit.
The WASC officials were visiting the college to examine the college’s progress in their effort to get off “show cause” accreditation status. Earlier this year WASC ordered NMC to provide reasons-or “show cause”-why the college’s accreditation should not be terminated. WASC will make their decision in January.
The College Council adopted the Institutional Excellence Guide last week, which is an organizational guide to NMC’s shared governance, planning, assessment and budgeting. Among other things, the guide details the duties of the College Council, an organization that has been a regular part of NMC for some time.
“The College Council is the recognized shared governance structure for the College that serves as the primary advisory body to the President on issues related to the ongoing operations of the College,” the guide states.
The Council, according to the guide, advises NMC’s president on matters such as policy and administrative review; management and allocation of resources; budgeting and allocation of resources; academic programs; and accreditation and self-study.
The group is made up of two students, six faculty, four staff and nine administrators.
