By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

REPRESENTATIVE Stanley T. Torres is challenging the statements made by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges on the status of Northern Marianas College’s accreditation.
In a letter to WASC president Barbara A. Beno on Dec. 26, the lawmaker said a review of the correspondence between WASC and NMC has forced him to once again dispute WASC’s positions on the college and subsequent actions.
In WASC’s letter to NMC on Nov. 13, Torres said the team mentioned that the college had informed WASC that it had appointed individuals to fill the posts of acting dean of academic programs and services and for the acting information training and technology program.
WASC then stated that these appointments adequately met Eligibility Requirement 4 which requires a full-time president or chief executive officer, said Torres, Ind-Saipan.
“This doesn’t make sense. How can NMC comply with a WASC requirement to have a full-time president or CEO by appointing two individuals to acting positions within NMC’s middle management?” Torres said.
He added that WASC is also critical of NMC for not being in compliance with Eligibility Requirement 5, which requires qualified administrative leadership with appropriate expertise and qualifications.
“You explain that ‘with so many important positions vacant (and filled with acting staff), the institution is at serious risk,’ ” Torres said, adding that this was why acting NMC President Danny Wyatt asked the Legislature’s help.
“NMC always presents a financial cry of needing more funding whenever pinched by an accrediting team or any other oversight body. However, the real problem has been the historical mismanagement of NMC’s resources by its administrative leadership,” Torres said, adding that some of the college revenue is improperly spent.
Torres also sought clarification of Wyatt’s recent statement that “NMC will never lose accreditation.”
“To support his bold statement, Wyatt mentions that the community college in the Republic of the Marshall Islands has had the highest form of show cause sanction for two years now, but the RMI college still remains accredited. Is he trying to tell us something? Like maybe it doesn’t really matter what types of negative accreditation status a college is in, because WASC will always keep the colleges accredited while making sure they keep paying dues,” Torres said.
He added that if NMC is guaranteed accreditation despite lacking funding, then going to California to “pick up (a) guaranteed accreditation is a waste of time and money.”
Wyatt earlier announced that he and NMC Chairwoman Rita Inos are scheduled to fly to San Francisco on Jan. 10 for the college’s accreditation.
Torres said he doesn’t look for financial irregularities to criticize NMC, because he understands the importance of having an accredited community college in the CNMI.
“But I do insist that WASC maintain high professional accrediting values in dealing with NMC. Our community college is only as strong as you and the WASC guardians sincerely act in their NMC oversight capacities,” the lawmaker said.
WASC has yet to reply to this reporter’s e-mails requesting its comment.