‘Good chance on lifting of NMC’s warning status’

Northern Marianas College has a good chance of getting its accreditation off warning status if the transfer of the La Fiesta shopping complex is finalized by December, according to NMC president Tony Deleon Guerrero.

In an interview, Deleon Guerrero said the recent visit by officials of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges to NMC went smoothly and yielded positive findings.

The WASC officials, from both the senior and junior accrediting commissions, came on Oct. 27 and 28 to validate the progress report submitted by the college earlier last month. The report included NMC’s response to WASC recommendations concerning resource allocation and program evaluation.

Deleon Guerrero said the WASC team leader briefed him of the group’s findings following the two-day visit. Based on the briefing, he said he feels “very confident that we will be lifted from the warning status.”

He noted that NMC is now up-to-date with its audit reports, which were a major concern for the WASC.

The federal agency has also approved of the NMC Board of Regents’ decision to transfer La Fiesta over to the CNMI government.

The La Fiesta purchase was another major concern for the WASC, which questioned how NMC planned to support two campuses and meet the annual lease payment of $200,000 for La Fiesta.

Deleon Guerrero said the report by the visiting team will be finalized by early December. The entire accrediting commission will meet in early January and based on the visiting team’s report, will decide whether or not NMC would be lifted from warning status.

“That’s why I’m hoping that this transfer will be finalized before December,” Deleon Guerrero said.

The college was placed this year on warning status by WASC’s two accrediting commissions—for Junior and Community Colleges and for Senior Colleges and Universities—due to its inability to correct finance-related problems and failure to comply with certain accreditation standards.

WASC’s Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges placed NMC on warning status last January and retained the same status despite NMC’s submission of needed reports last June. It expressed concern over NMC’s purchase of the La Fiesta complex, citing the college’s lack of resources to maintain two campuses.

Early in July this year, WASC’s Senior College Commission issued a warning to NMC for non-compliance with standards, as had been cited by ACCJC.

The SCC’s warning has put the college’s four-year elementary education program-its only baccalaureate program-at risk.