Northern Marianas College
Encyclopedia
Northern Marianas College (NMC) is a two-year community college
located in the United States
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(CNMI). The college was founded in 1981 by Agnes McPheteres in a renovated former United Nations
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
hospital
on Saipan where its main campus
remains to this day.http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:LDdJMXCKHIQJ:www.nmcnet.edu/aboutNMC.cfm/history/+nmc+history&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=firefox-a NMC today has three campuses on the islands of Saipan
, Tinian
, and Rota
, with the Tinian and Rota campuses no longer offering academic classes. The main campus on Saipan
lies in the region
of Micronesia
in the western Pacific, approximately 3500 miles west of Hawaii
, 1500 miles south of Japan
, and 100 miles north of Guam
. NMC is the sole public college within the Commonwealth
and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
, although the school has historically faced challenges in this regardhttp://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstoryarch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=38655&archdte=7-6-2004http://www.pacificislands.cc/pm42004/pmdefault.php?urlarticleid=0015 (scroll down to "Marshall Islands, CNMI" section of source
, and see "Leadership and accreditation issues" section below on this page). Its current president is Carmen Fernandez. Former presidents include Keith Pointer, Agnes McPhetres, Joaquin Sablan, Kenneth Wright, Tony De Leon Guerrero, and numerous acting presidents over relatively long time periods.http://www.webcitation.org/5VfI4hGYA
Although NMC is a two-year college, it also grants bachelor's degrees through its School of Education. The average class size at NMC is around 15 students, though enrollment officials seek to fill most classes to the official cap of 25.
NMC students who pursue education higher than an associate's degree
usually attend the University of Guam
or the University of Hawaii
. Some transfer to the U.S. mainland, while most who forego further education and have "local" status or U.S. citizenship attempt to enter jobs within predominantly the CNMI public sector
.
In addition to its mandate
embodied in the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Constitution to provide higher education
to CNMI citizens
, NMC seeks to attract Asian
students who wish to learn English as a Second Language (ESL)
.http://www.nmcnet.edu/aboutNMC.cfm/globaled/ The Northern Marianas Islands is the closest United States territory
to many Asian countries. International students are not required to apply for a student visa with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, since the CNMI controls its own immigration and labor laws
locally, not without controversy (see George Miller (politician)
http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/marianas.html); NMC assists students in obtaining student visas from the CNMI government and there is no entrance examination
requirement at NMC for students taking ESL. Although the majority of island
English-speaking residents and student English-speakers at NMC do not speak standard American English
(also see Standard English
),http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=54421&issID=2237&archdte=1/31/2006%2012:00:00%20AM http://www.nmcnet.edu/aboutNMC.cfm/globaled/ most instructors
at the college do.
]
Along with the CNMI's current economic recession, the college has faced severe budget cuts beginning in 2006. http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstoryarch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=55959&archdte=3-24-2006 The normal 2006 Summer II term was canceled altogether.http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=58958 Tuition
was raised by 31 percent beginning in the Fall 2006 term http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=57690 and student enrollment dipped by nearly the same amount.
In September 2006, the salaries and length of work-weeks of most employees at the college were cut by 10 percent.http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=60640&issID=2449&archdte=8/31/2006%2012:00:00%20AM
During that same month, NMC's U.S. $277,000 United States Department of Education
Adult Basic Education grant was transferred over to the CNMI Public School System. http://www.mvariety.com/localpage/lnews23.htm The college's film school
was closed in 2005 and its nursing
program has been continually plagued with problems. http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=46078&issID=1936&archdte=4/6/2005%2012:00:00%20AM
http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=48800&issID=2035&archdte=7/14/2005%2012:00:00%20AM
http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=54377&issID=2235&archdte=1/29/2006%2012:00:00%20AM
http://www.mvariety.com/calendar/august/22/frontpage/front02.htm On August 7, 2007, the nursing program's acting chair stated she was leaving on Aug. 18, with no replacement in sight and faculty numbers down to four (including one adjunct) for the program's 30 students in the fall.http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=71102&cat=15
In May 2007, the CNMI Governor signed House Bill 15-222 into law (Public Law No. 15-58) authorizing NMC to secure a $250,000 loan to repair and renovate its dilapidated buildings and classrooms.http://nmcupdate.blogspot.com/2007/06/nmc-weekly-update-june-18th.html
that would have required higher education
credentials of all members of the college's governing board and that the college president
hold an earned doctorate
http://www.cnmileg.gov.mp/documents/15th/house/HSE_Bills/HB15-140.pdf was withdrawn in May 2006 from the CNMI legislature
,http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=57873&issID=2353&archdte=5/27/2006%2012:00:00%20AM who is responsible to give advice and consent to the CNMI governor about board appointees.http://www.webcitation.org/5VlYL5muy
During an October 2006 visit by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
, the WASC lead official "noted that although NMC committed to do so 16 years ago, the college still has not established a process for regular program review and assessment". The same official stated that WASC was "deeply disappointed" that NMC had not made significant progress in doing so.http://www.mvariety.com/frontpage/front03.htm In December 2006, WASC stated that NMC's accreditation was "at serious risk" because it lacked qualified administrative leadership.http://www.mvariety.com/frontpage/front01.htm
The February 5, 2007, Saipan Tribune, and later the May 18, 2007 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, reported that WASC
placed NMC on probation until June 2008. Handed down by the senior-college commission, as well as by the association's community-college commission, their statement said it was concerned with "inadequate and unstable administrative leadership, inadequate faculty and staff, cuts in public funding, inadequate planning and resource allocation," and "serious deficiencies in the quality of education and services offered to students at off-campus sites, as well as the continuing failure to institutionalize program review, systematically assess student learning," or develop programs to meet the needs of the local labor market. The commission was also concerned about what it saw as the lack of experience of the college's governing board, financial instability, drops in enrollment, and poor completion rates, and the institution's lack of autonomy from the government of the Northern Marianas Islands, a commonwealth affiliated with the United States.
Danny O. Wyatt, Acting President of the college, replied that the "probation sanction was handed down because of an accumulation of organizational problems going back as far as 1990." He stated that the college has suffered from a lack of leadership and that past institutional promises to WASC to improve the institution after being placed on warning status simply were not carried out. The accreditor got "sick and tired of the excuses," according to Wyatt (23 Aug 2007 Marianas Variety). Wyatt later resigned in January 2008 after over 10 years with NMC.http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=76457
After the college hired a new president, Carmen Fernandez, on April 27, 2007 (the college's fifth president in the past six years),http://www.pacificmagazine.net/issue/2007/06/29/pacific-people WASC in February 2008 still saw no substantive action on the accreditation issue. WASC then ordered NMC to "Show Cause" as to why its accreditation should not be pulled and to prepare for closure within six months.http://www.webcitation.org/5VR0mi3n4http://www.webcitation.org/5VSjQMnlS Echoing the same language used in its 2000 and 2006 reports to the college,http://www.webcitation.org/5Vfe9kgDQ the WASC report justified its action based upon the college's
College officials were in shock and dismay at the action and promised to try to save the college's accreditation.http://www.webcitation.org/5VSjASO9A Saipan's only NPR
radio station, KRNM (FM), which is housed on the NMC campus and has long been viewed by campus officials as a drain to the college, also stands to shut down over the matter (8 Feb 2008 KSPN Cable News).
The CNMI Washington representative, Pedro A. Tenorio, commented, "It is extremely important that our sole publicly supported institution of higher education be as strong as it can be. It is imperative that we all pitch in to save NMC for only through education and skill development can the people of the CNMI and the CNMI as a whole address economic crisis and the challenges of the 21st century."http://www.webcitation.org/5VlYnlVIi
In August 2009 NMC's accreditation was fully reconfirmed by WASC until 2012.
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
located in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
(CNMI). The college was founded in 1981 by Agnes McPheteres in a renovated former United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1986.-History:...
hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
on Saipan where its main campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
remains to this day.http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:LDdJMXCKHIQJ:www.nmcnet.edu/aboutNMC.cfm/history/+nmc+history&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=firefox-a NMC today has three campuses on the islands of Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, and Rota
Rota (island)
Rota also known as the "peaceful island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the second southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. It lies approximately 40 miles north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam...
, with the Tinian and Rota campuses no longer offering academic classes. The main campus on Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
lies in the region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
of Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
in the western Pacific, approximately 3500 miles west of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, 1500 miles south of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and 100 miles north of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. NMC is the sole public college within the Commonwealth
Commonwealth (United States)
Four of the constituent states of the United States officially designate themselves Commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia....
and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
, although the school has historically faced challenges in this regardhttp://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstoryarch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=38655&archdte=7-6-2004http://www.pacificislands.cc/pm42004/pmdefault.php?urlarticleid=0015 (scroll down to "Marshall Islands, CNMI" section of source
Source text
A source text is a text from which information or ideas are derived. In translation, a source text is the original text that is to be translated into another language.-Description:...
, and see "Leadership and accreditation issues" section below on this page). Its current president is Carmen Fernandez. Former presidents include Keith Pointer, Agnes McPhetres, Joaquin Sablan, Kenneth Wright, Tony De Leon Guerrero, and numerous acting presidents over relatively long time periods.http://www.webcitation.org/5VfI4hGYA
Academics
Northern Marianas College offers degrees and certificate programs from seven departments:- Business
- Human Performance and Athletics
- Languages and Humanities
- Nursing
- School of Education (four-year program)
- Sciences, Mathematics and Vocational Education
- Social Sciences and Fine Arts
NMC students who pursue education higher than an associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
usually attend the University of Guam
University of Guam
University of Guam is a four-year land-grant institution, located in the village of Mangilao on the island of Guam in the Western Pacific Ocean...
or the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
. Some transfer to the U.S. mainland, while most who forego further education and have "local" status or U.S. citizenship attempt to enter jobs within predominantly the CNMI public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
.
In addition to its mandate
Mandate (politics)
In politics, a mandate is the authority granted by a constituency to act as its representative.The concept of a government having a legitimate mandate to govern via the fair winning of a democratic election is a central idea of democracy...
embodied in the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Constitution to provide higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
to CNMI citizens
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
, NMC seeks to attract Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
students who wish to learn English as a Second Language (ESL)
English language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
.http://www.nmcnet.edu/aboutNMC.cfm/globaled/ The Northern Marianas Islands is the closest United States territory
United States territory
United States territory is any extent of region under the jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters including all U.S. Naval carriers. The United States has traditionally proclaimed the sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing its...
to many Asian countries. International students are not required to apply for a student visa with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, since the CNMI controls its own immigration and labor laws
Labour and employment law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
locally, not without controversy (see George Miller (politician)
George Miller (politician)
George Miller III is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. From 2007 through 2010, Miller served as chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, formerly known as the Education and the Workforce Committee.-Early life, education, and early...
http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/marianas.html); NMC assists students in obtaining student visas from the CNMI government and there is no entrance examination
Entrance examination
An entrance examination is an examination that many educational institutions use to select students for admission. These exams may be administered at any level of education, from primary to higher education, although they are more common at higher levels....
requirement at NMC for students taking ESL. Although the majority of island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
English-speaking residents and student English-speakers at NMC do not speak standard American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
(also see Standard English
Standard English
Standard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country...
),http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=54421&issID=2237&archdte=1/31/2006%2012:00:00%20AM http://www.nmcnet.edu/aboutNMC.cfm/globaled/ most instructors
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
at the college do.
Dwindling finances and program issues
Along with the CNMI's current economic recession, the college has faced severe budget cuts beginning in 2006. http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstoryarch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=55959&archdte=3-24-2006 The normal 2006 Summer II term was canceled altogether.http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=58958 Tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
was raised by 31 percent beginning in the Fall 2006 term http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=57690 and student enrollment dipped by nearly the same amount.
In September 2006, the salaries and length of work-weeks of most employees at the college were cut by 10 percent.http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=60640&issID=2449&archdte=8/31/2006%2012:00:00%20AM
During that same month, NMC's U.S. $277,000 United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
Adult Basic Education grant was transferred over to the CNMI Public School System. http://www.mvariety.com/localpage/lnews23.htm The college's film school
Film school
The term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
was closed in 2005 and its nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
program has been continually plagued with problems. http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=46078&issID=1936&archdte=4/6/2005%2012:00:00%20AM
http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=48800&issID=2035&archdte=7/14/2005%2012:00:00%20AM
http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=54377&issID=2235&archdte=1/29/2006%2012:00:00%20AM
http://www.mvariety.com/calendar/august/22/frontpage/front02.htm On August 7, 2007, the nursing program's acting chair stated she was leaving on Aug. 18, with no replacement in sight and faculty numbers down to four (including one adjunct) for the program's 30 students in the fall.http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=71102&cat=15
In May 2007, the CNMI Governor signed House Bill 15-222 into law (Public Law No. 15-58) authorizing NMC to secure a $250,000 loan to repair and renovate its dilapidated buildings and classrooms.http://nmcupdate.blogspot.com/2007/06/nmc-weekly-update-june-18th.html
Leadership and accreditation issues
In addition, a billBill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
that would have required higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
credentials of all members of the college's governing board and that the college president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
hold an earned doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
http://www.cnmileg.gov.mp/documents/15th/house/HSE_Bills/HB15-140.pdf was withdrawn in May 2006 from the CNMI legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
,http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=57873&issID=2353&archdte=5/27/2006%2012:00:00%20AM who is responsible to give advice and consent to the CNMI governor about board appointees.http://www.webcitation.org/5VlYL5muy
During an October 2006 visit by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
, the WASC lead official "noted that although NMC committed to do so 16 years ago, the college still has not established a process for regular program review and assessment". The same official stated that WASC was "deeply disappointed" that NMC had not made significant progress in doing so.http://www.mvariety.com/frontpage/front03.htm In December 2006, WASC stated that NMC's accreditation was "at serious risk" because it lacked qualified administrative leadership.http://www.mvariety.com/frontpage/front01.htm
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
placed NMC on probation until June 2008. Handed down by the senior-college commission, as well as by the association's community-college commission, their statement said it was concerned with "inadequate and unstable administrative leadership, inadequate faculty and staff, cuts in public funding, inadequate planning and resource allocation," and "serious deficiencies in the quality of education and services offered to students at off-campus sites, as well as the continuing failure to institutionalize program review, systematically assess student learning," or develop programs to meet the needs of the local labor market. The commission was also concerned about what it saw as the lack of experience of the college's governing board, financial instability, drops in enrollment, and poor completion rates, and the institution's lack of autonomy from the government of the Northern Marianas Islands, a commonwealth affiliated with the United States.
Danny O. Wyatt, Acting President of the college, replied that the "probation sanction was handed down because of an accumulation of organizational problems going back as far as 1990." He stated that the college has suffered from a lack of leadership and that past institutional promises to WASC to improve the institution after being placed on warning status simply were not carried out. The accreditor got "sick and tired of the excuses," according to Wyatt (23 Aug 2007 Marianas Variety). Wyatt later resigned in January 2008 after over 10 years with NMC.http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=76457
After the college hired a new president, Carmen Fernandez, on April 27, 2007 (the college's fifth president in the past six years),http://www.pacificmagazine.net/issue/2007/06/29/pacific-people WASC in February 2008 still saw no substantive action on the accreditation issue. WASC then ordered NMC to "Show Cause" as to why its accreditation should not be pulled and to prepare for closure within six months.http://www.webcitation.org/5VR0mi3n4http://www.webcitation.org/5VSjQMnlS Echoing the same language used in its 2000 and 2006 reports to the college,http://www.webcitation.org/5Vfe9kgDQ the WASC report justified its action based upon the college's
inadequate and unstable administrative leadership, inadequate faculty and staff, cuts in public funding, inadequate planning and resource allocation in conformity with NMC’s mission, serious deficiencies in the quality of education and services offered to students at off-campus sites as well as continuing failure to institutionalize program review, systematically assess student learning, or develop programs in relation to the needs of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands labor market, lack of institutional autonomy vis a vis the commonwealth government, an inexperienced and thus far untrained board of (regents), financial instability, [and] drops in enrollment and completion rates.http://www.webcitation.org/5Vaqv4gfq
College officials were in shock and dismay at the action and promised to try to save the college's accreditation.http://www.webcitation.org/5VSjASO9A Saipan's only NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
radio station, KRNM (FM), which is housed on the NMC campus and has long been viewed by campus officials as a drain to the college, also stands to shut down over the matter (8 Feb 2008 KSPN Cable News).
The CNMI Washington representative, Pedro A. Tenorio, commented, "It is extremely important that our sole publicly supported institution of higher education be as strong as it can be. It is imperative that we all pitch in to save NMC for only through education and skill development can the people of the CNMI and the CNMI as a whole address economic crisis and the challenges of the 21st century."http://www.webcitation.org/5VlYnlVIi
Addressing of accreditation issues
In early June 2009, NMC submitted its final report to WASC after remaining on "Show Cause" threatened accreditation status. WASC had laid out a pathway for NMC to save its accreditation, making eight recommendations. Six of the eight had apparently already been met as NMC made its final report, addressing the remaining two.http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=90776In August 2009 NMC's accreditation was fully reconfirmed by WASC until 2012.
See also
External links
- Weekly official updates from the NMC President's office - not updated since October 24, 2007