Hart in US to testify on NMC accreditation

Northern Marianas College president Dr. Sharon Hart is in California this week to testify on the institution’s accreditation with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

The commission’s meeting is scheduled for three days, from Jan. 8 to 10, and will be held at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, in Sacramento, California. The assembly will consider institutional actions on member institutions, including NMC, which was sanctioned with show-cause status in February last year.

Saipan Tribune learned that the first two days of the assembly will be an executive session while Jan. 10 is allotted for the public session. The third day’s agenda includes a review of policies, including the Policy on Institutional Degrees and Credits, Policy on Monitoring Institutional Performance, Policy on Direct Assessment of Learning, and the Policy on Rights and Responsibilities of the Commission and Member Institutions.

The commission’s agenda also includes reports from ACCJC president Dr. Barbara Beno and vice presidents Susan Clifford, Krista Johns, and Jack Pond. A copy of the public agenda is posted on the ACCJC website at www.accjc.org.

According to Amanda Allen, accreditation liaison officer and NMC director of Distance Education, Hart will be providing information about NMC’s continuing efforts to meet and exceed accreditation standards, including updates to the show-cause report that was submitted last October. The report’s submission was followed by a visit of commission representatives to NMC.
Besides Hart, no other members of the college management and the Board of Regents are attending the commission meeting.

Hart, according to Allen, will also be giving updates on the activities that were reported in the college’s supplemental report that was turned in by end-December.
“The supplemental report emphasized the college’s efforts to sustain its accreditation momentum, and even goes further to describe other activities we have undertaken to address accreditation recommendations,” said Allen yesterday.

The report, she disclosed, also details the actions the college has taken to improve effectiveness in areas like access to Rota and Tinian, pursuing funds for the Facilities Master Plan, improvements to NMC’s Information Technology infrastructure, NMC’s governance structure and the Institutional Excellence Guide, and Board of Regents policies.

“We are proud that the college community continues to make important strides in numerous areas. The emphasis now shifts to sustaining the efforts and the progress we have made,” said Allen. 

NMC was placed on show-cause status by ACCJC in February 2013. The accredited status of the institution continues during the show-cause period. (Moneth G. Deposa)