Stanley questions authenticity of WASC letter

An unsigned letter from Western Association of Schools and Colleges president Dr. Barbara A. Beno was questioned by a lawmaker during a recent House session, saying the document is “another fabricated material to discredit” the Northern Marianas College.

Rep. Stanley Torres, in a privilege speech, showed the letter addressed to Board of Regents chair Charles V. Cepeda dated Feb. 26.

“I found this letter…and it leads me to believe and suspect that it is a doctored letter to embarrass the chairman and all NMC Board of Regents that they cannot learn how to function despite the trainings about the standards of accreditation and should better seek other forms of public service other than sitting on the NMC Board as regents,” said Torres.

The lawmaker said that NMC president Dr. Carmen Fernandez may have had a hand in the distribution of the letter, a copy of which Torres said he got from House Education Committee chair Rep. Ralph Torres.

He plans to personally ask the WASC official to determine the validity of the letter.

Cepeda explained yesterday that the letter was truly sent to him by Beno. However, since the first letter was an electronic copy, it didn’t show the official’s signature, he said. Due to this technical reason, the official sent a new one bearing her name.

“That letter was genuine and originated from Dr. Beno. The first copy sent through electronic [mail] didn’t show her signature, hence the reason she sent another one,” he told Saipan Tribune.

In the three-page letter, Beno indicated that the correspondence was a response to Cepeda’s earlier message asking for guidance on the college’s accreditation requirements.

The Legislature’s participation and “meddling” in the college’s operation was among the topics addressed in the letter.

Beno’s letter indicated that Cepeda had sought the commission’s guidance in addressing the “misbehavior” of some regents.

“The commission standards clearly state the responsibilities of the governing board. The behaviors you have described of board participation in attempts to contact the Legislature about college matters, and in discussions with employees about personnel matters, as well as general discussions which undermine the ability of the college president to lead and the college to function effectively are not appropriate,” Beno’s letter stated, adding that Standard IV.B.1 describes in detail the standards for behavior and responsibilities of governing boards.

Beno said regents should not be introducing or attempting to introduce legislative pressure into the operations of NMC.

“If governing board members discuss the evaluation of the president outside of the formal evaluation procedures, if they participate in such harmful activity as distributing anonymous complaints or asking the president to be responsive to such anonymous complaints…they are failing to provide adequate delegation of responsibility and authority to the president and they are failing to provide fair evaluation and guidance to the president,” she said.

Beno said the commission has trained the regents several times the past few years and the NMC board has had access to almost annual accreditation training.

“The commission is concerned that despite ample training, the governing board of NMC or some members of it cannot seem to learn how to function effectively. Perhaps those governing members who cannot adhere to the standards despite the specific training given to them are better suited to forms of public service other than service on the governing board of an accredited college,” Beno said, adding that it appears from the chair’s descriptions that some regents may be acting in a manner that is detrimental to the institution’s ability to meet its accreditation challenges.

“The college is already in serious jeopardy; governing board misbehavior can only add to the institution’s difficulties,” Beno added.