“The austerity measure that reduced the salaries of employees, staff and faculty is one form of outside interference and was one of the reasons why NMC was sanctioned in the past,” said NMC interim President Lorraine Cabrera, one of yesterday’s guests at the Rotary Club meeting at the Hyatt.
“The austerity measure is happening again, and this is a big concern because we will most likely be sanctioned over and over again,” she added.
She said they understand the need for austerity measures but where to make the cuts should be NMC’s decision.
“We can cut our budget but it will be us who will determine where to cut, not the Legislature or anyone else,” Cabrera said.
She said they are still hoping to be exempted from the austerity measure pending in the Legislature.
Cabrera also cited decisions made by the governor when appointing members of the board of regents as another contributing factor to the continuous sanctions against NMC.
“We understand the governor has the final say on who to appoint, but we can give names for him to choose from because we know who can better help meet the goals and objectives of the college,” she said.
The government’s zero-funding certain positions also affects the college, she added.
“Again, this is outside interference because some of these posts are critical to NMC’s operations,” Cabrera said.
Optimistic
But Cabrera is optimistic that NMC will reaffirm its accreditation by next year.
“We are working very hard to meet all the recommendations and we will be reaffirmed,” she said.
NMC is scheduled to submit a report by Oct. 15, 2010 to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. By late October or sometime in November, an accrediting team will be here to do an inspection and evaluate what was submitted in the report. By January 2011, the accreditation team will take action.
Cabrera said the accreditation team can remove the show cause status imposed on NMC, continue with the show cause status, or revoke the accreditation of the college.
In the meantime, NMC remains accredited, which means that it is still entitled to receive federal assistance and the credits earned by its students can still be transferred to U.S. colleges or universities.
Stability issues
NMC accreditation liaison officer Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero, who was with Cabrera at the Rotary meeting yesterday, said the 10 recommendations to NMC include issues regarding leadership, finances, personnel, and planning.
He said having seven presidents in 10 years greatly affected the stability of the college’s operations.
“Leadership concerns are one of the reasons why NMC has been sanctioned over and over again, as NMC has been changing presidents very often,” Deleon Guerrero said.
No tuition fee hike
Cabrera said she sees no tuition fee increases in the near future.
“There may be some adjustments in other fees but the tuition fees will remain for now. It’s easy to raise the tuition but we don’t want to hurt the students,” she added.
Cabrera urged students and other members of the community to continue supporting the college.
