‘Study at UOG without leaving Saipan’

Local students may soon pursue a baccalaureate degree from the University of Guam without leaving Saipan, as the Northern Marianas College continues to strengthen its ties with the only university in the Micronesian region.

NMC president Tony Deleon Guerrero said on Wednesday that a program coordinator is now being sought to oversee the University Center, which the college and UOG are planning to establish at NMC’s As Terlaje campus.

At the University Center, local students would be able to pursue postsecondary education beyond the associate degree programs currently provided by the NMC.

Deleon Guerrero said UOG would pay for the salary of the staff, while NMC would provide the students. No new instructors would be hired for the new program, as UOG would provide the faculty, the college president added.

“Basically, the University Center will make higher courses more accessible to CNMI students, especially those who cannot afford to go to Hawaii or the U.S. mainland to pursue higher education. Whatever we offer through the University Center, students can also take without having to apply with UOG,” Deleon Guerrero said. “If the demand is, for example, a baccalaureate program in criminal justice, I will discuss it with [UOG president Harold] Allen and he will send a criminal justice professor to teach it under the University Center.”

The University Center arose from an agreement signed by Allen and Deleon Guerrero last September, which states that as an initial step, both institutions should “collaborate to conduct a market needs assessment and to identify where both can jointly leverage a competitive presence by creating niche programming.”

“This programming may include professional [English as a Second Language] programming, pre-licensure programming, certificates, edu-tourism programs, and ultimately—with academic support from the institutions and appropriate support from [the Western Association of Schools and Colleges]—degree completion and dual admission in various undergraduate programs,” a portion of the agreement reads.

Deleon Guerrero said UOG and NMC are looking at having a baccalaureate degree program in military science offered at the University Center by spring 2005.

He noted that a lot of CNMI high school students in the CNMI are interested in careers in the military. For its part, Guam has been designated as the center of military activities in the region.

Further, Deleon Guerrero said, UOG is hoping to enhance its presence in Micronesia and to reach more Asian students through NMC.

Unlike Guam, which is subject to U.S. immigration laws, CNMI has control over its immigration system and is therefore more accessible to international students.

“We are exploring the possibility of having students learn English and obtain their associate degree at NMC and then transfer to UOG for the bachelor’s degree,” Deleon Guerrero said.