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NMC prepares for 4-year accreditation
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Posted on Feb 22 1999
The Northern Marianas College will face twin accreditation evaluations during the visit of the junior and senior commissions in March next year.
Self-study visits in one month will mean NMC’s accreditation to offer a four-year Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and for the entire institution to renew its Western Association of Schools and Colleges recognition.
Both commissions of WASC will make one comprehensive visit to the college and thereafter the affirmation of NMC’s accreditation will occur every six years.
President Agnes McPhetres is urging her people to prepare for this self-study that will happen in less than a year but will spell two accreditation credits for NMC.
“The Board of Regents and I are confident you will take full advantage of this opportunity to ensure that our institution takes a major step forward in providing quality public service to our community,” she said in a letter.
She recently created the self-study steering committee to oversee its preparation for the visit. Led by Vince Riley, his committee will help the college addressed the standards identified by both commissions.
During the last visit of its Executive Director David Wolf, he was supporting NMC’s efforts to pursue the four-year degree. However, the limited collection for reference materials found in its library was singled out as a weak area which needed attention.
Expansion plans were earlier prepared for the Olympio T. Borja Memorial Library of NMC that will increase the number of book shelves by 60 percent. It will also accommodate six internet stations and over 40 people inside. Additional instruction rooms will be added. Such plans were put on hold due to lack of funding.
The college’s accreditation to offer a four-year course will also need the backing of the “Post Secondary Act of 1998” still pending at the legislature. This act provides the legal groundwork for NMC to proceed with its baccalaureate plan.
