BOR approves self-study draft

The Northern Marianas College Board of Regents yesterday endorsed the college’s draft of a self-study to be submitted to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges for review and approval.

Included in the self-study draft are major reforms the college has accomplished over the years based on recommendations made by the WASC team as of their last accreditation visit.

With the noted improvements, the college is hopeful it stands a chance to secure another full-accreditation as well as gain authority to offer four-year baccalaureate degrees on Education.

The college, which has been accredited by the WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, has this time requested for a simultaneous accreditation under the Senior Colleges Commission convinced of its readiness to produce teachers at CNMI’s lone center for higher learning.

NMC Consultant Ivan Propst from the Educational Services for the Pacific told a BOR meeting yesterday that the move is a “pioneering effort” for NMC.

“This self study is for dual purposes and we’re applying for accreditation two years earlier than scheduled so we can develop a comprehensive self study both for the Senior Commission and the reaffirmation at the Junior Commission,” said Mr. Propst.

The accreditation team composed primarily of members from Senior level colleges will be conducting the visit this October and will be looking at three major areas of concern.

The group is expected to mainly assess the college’s standards based on the qualification of its staff members (for four year degree courses), NMC’s learning resources (library), and the curriculum (for four-year degree courses).

“Over the past years, the college has been preparing for this. And we are putting more into our learning resources for the Senior level commission because this could be one of the important concerns,” said Mr. Propst.

Mr. Propst reported that the school has certainly made strides in trying to improve its library resources.

During the last accreditation, WASC came out with a total of 26 recommendations for the college to work on.

Out of the 26, WASC has identified four critical areas NMC needed to develop.
The team had asked the college to start completing a master plan or employ an institutionalized planning process, intensify communication within NMC campuses on Saipan, Rota, and Tinian, work with the Legislature on the issue of the college’s financial stability, and assess effectiveness versus outcome.

Mr. Propst said the college has been able to faithfully follow suggestions set forth by he accrediting body.