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Regents seek regular updates on progress of accreditation report
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Posted on Aug 19 2011
The Board of Regents is urging the management of Northern Marianas College to observe timely communication in dealing with accreditation work.
NMC, which is working to have its probation status lifted by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, is due to submit a report to WASC on Oct. 15 this year.
Accreditation liaison officer Galvin Deleon Guerrero described their accreditation work as “pretty well on target” but he was still urged to provide all plans and information to the board leading to the deadline.
Regents William Torres, Andrew Orsini, and Frank Rabauliman all emphasized the board’s need to be informed about the management’s every step in completing the process.
Torres specifically asked about the management’s timeline in completing the accreditation report.
“We do have a timeline and we do provide regular updates to the board. We have a very strict calendar in place and we’re following it religiously,” said Deleon Guerrero, adding that the report’s first draft will be turned in to the board on Sept. 23 for information and review purposes.
NMC president Sharon Hart told the board that 40 percent of the faculty and employees are involved in the accreditation process by serving in various committees.
“We have a large number of cooperation,” she said.
NMC, according to Deleon Guerrero, is focusing on two goals: completing the Oct. 25 report and fulfilling the 2012 self-study report.
Due to the commission’s rules on public disclosure and confidentiality, he said there are information about the report or the accreditation that may not be disseminated as openly as some regents want to. “There is proper time for its disclosure pursuant to the commission’s rule,” he said.
From the most severe sanction of show-cause, NMC was placed on a less severe status of probation—a level issued when the commission finds that an institution deviates significantly from the eligibility criteria, standards, or policies, or fails to respond to actions and conditions imposed by the commission.
The Oct. 15 report should detail how NMC is working to fix the 10 deficiencies cited by WASC.
