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‘Recruiting qualified teachers a challenge’
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Posted on Jan 23 2006
The Northern Marianas College Business Department admits that it is finding it very difficult to recruit qualified faculty for many of its programs, according to the recently issued Annual Report 2005.
The report said the Business Department is suffering from a shortage of competent faculty members due to the low mandated ceiling on salaries of public employees. The salary cap limits public employees’ compensation to not more than $50,000 per annum.
“Currently, however, persons with extensive qualifications in fields such as accounting, business management, and computer science, to name a few, expect to earn well in excess of $50,000 per annum,” said the report.
The department requires its faculty to hold at least a master’s degree in any field but finds it difficult to acquire personnel with such degrees because they would have to accept significant reductions in real income to accept positions with the department.
NMC’s $50,000 cap applies even to highly experienced faculty with doctoral degrees; as result “the college is noncompetitive in the area of salaries,” said the report.
Consequently, the quality of instruction and the attractiveness of the programs the department could offer potential students suffer, said the report. The problem also creates a “heavy burden on the better-qualified instructors to offer the number of advanced courses that will satisfy student demand.”
Despite this, the department says it continues to provide quality education and training to prepare the people of the CNMI for business leadership and management careers in the public and private sectors despite the challenge on teacher recruitment.
