NMC inks partnership with Rio Salado College

Northern Marianas College president Dr. Sharon Y. Hart and Academic Programs and Services dean Barbara Merfalen announced yesterday that the college will be offering 19 additional degree certificate programs online starting this summer.

The college’s online program’s expansion was the result of a partnership it recently inked with the Rio Salado College, recognized as a national leader in higher education specializing in distance learning.

In a news briefing yesterday at Pacific Islands Club, Hart said this partnership is just the beginning for the college as it is expected to bring more in the coming months.

Hart admitted that NMC’s lack of funds has hampered its ability to offer CNMI students multiple online certificate programs. However, thanks to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, this has opened the door for NMC to partner with other community colleges and universities.

Rio Salado College is the largest online public community college in the U.S. It serves nearly 70,000 students annually (40,000 taking courses online) and offers more than 600 online classes and over 100 programs. It offers degree and certificate programs every Monday morning in lieu of the traditional start date of 2-3 times per year.

“The partnership with Rio Salado allows our students to take their general education or core classes at NMC and then transfer to Rio Salado if they would like to pursue degrees that we don’t currently offer,” said Hart.

What makes this an even greater benefit to the CNMI, she said, is that, with NMC being a member of WICHE, CNMI students are entitled to a lower tuition rate at Rio Salado.

Hart disclosed that prior to NMC’s membership in WICHE, CNMI students were paying over $300 per credit at Rio Salado. With the discounted rate, the cost was reduced to about $121.50 per credit.

If a CNMI student wants to obtain a degree from Rio Salado College, they can start by going to NMC and take the necessary credit hours. For example, Rio Salado requires 64 credit hours for its public administration course. The student could complete 43 of these 64 credit hours at NMC and take the remaining 21 credits at Rio Salado to complete the degree.

The partnership between the two colleges was inked on May 13 during the WICHE commission meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico.