Hart wants full monitoring of bills, laws affecting NMC

Northern Marianas College president Sharon Hart, wants an aggressive approach in monitoring all bills and laws that will have impact on the college, both in the Commonwealth and at the federal government level.

During Thursday’s board meeting, she told regents that full monitoring would better place NMC in a proactive rather than reactive mode. She plans to gather information first, discuss this internally and present recommendations to the board’s fiscal and legislative committee, which will then endorse any action to the board.

Ultimately, Hart said, it is the board that will then need to decide and go on the record as to its stand whether it supports, opposes, or has no opinion on pending bills.

Besides the full monitoring of all legislations, Hart also recommended the transfer of board meetings to other areas of the college to make the event more “inclusive and inviting” to members of the community. She proposed a bigger area that can accommodate a larger pool of attendees.

Hart also pointed out that key to NMC’s success is acknowledging the importance of other key stakeholders such as the NMC Foundation and community members. She suggested that future board meetings may be scheduled with these stakeholders to maintain their “link” with the institution.

Hart officially assumed office on July 5 and Thursday’s meeting was her first. In her maiden report to the board, the chief executive officer vowed to keep the board abreast of all important events at the college with the submission of a president’s report each month.

To erase confusion and misunderstanding of facts, Hart also vowed to schedule a quarterly meeting with the Legislature to keep them posted about the college. She encouraged board members to join her in the same meetings, once schedules are confirmed.

Meantime, Hart disclosed that the college is moving forward with efforts to improve the link between program review, planning, budgeting, and resource allocation. Results from this process, she added, will help NMC make strategic budget and resource allocation decisions that directly link to the institution’s current strategic plan. Final results are expected next month, she said.

NMC, which was recently placed on probation, has until Oct. 15 to submit a report to the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges. A team visit is expected later to validate the content of the probation report.