Lawmakers said NMC should also focus on complying with the recommendations of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges-Western Association of Schools and Colleges regarding NMC’s show cause status.
During yesterday’s meeting with NMC officials, Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider said faculty and staff members should be part as of the decision-making process.
“We’ll lose a lot of resources if we don’t bring them in,” said Hofschneider, R-Saipan.
It was House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare Chairman Ralph DLG. Torres who scheduled the meeting with NMC President Carmen Fernandez and Chairman Charles Cepeda regarding the college’s accreditation status, budgetary issues and the “leadership crisis” on campus.
Rep. Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan, reminded NMC officials to always observe protocol and procedures when performing their duties.
Quitugua said NMC must also protect the privacy of individuals when releasing information to the public.
Rep. David M. Apatang, R-Saipan, said the unsigned two-page document containing allegations against of Fernandez may have no merit, but the college can still look into the accusations.
He said the college must adhere to its own policies and penalize those who violate them.
Torres said he has no doubt that NMC is working diligently to reaffirm its accreditation but expressed concern regarding the lack of faculty representation in the decision-making process.
Fernandez and Cepeda said that while they continue to address the recommendations of ACCJC-WASC, they also consult staff members, faculty, and even the members of the community.
Former Rep. Maria T. Peter, an NMC regent, said lawmakers should communicate with the chairmen of the Legislature’s Health, Education and Welfare Committees on issues affecting the college before going to the media.
“We have to listen to your concerns — we know you appropriate our budget but let’s go to protocol, let’s go to the correct process,” Peter said.
She said the regents are willing to discuss and resolve NMC issues, but the “problem here is maybe [the critics of NMC’s leadership] do not know how to go about addressing an issue — where do we go, what is the protocol? Do we go to the faculty senate, the regents or directly to the president?”
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said they were surprised by the mounting criticism against NMC’s leadership.
As public officials, Palacios said lawmakers have the obligation to know whether these concerns have merit because these will affect the accreditation status of the college.
The accusations against Fernandez, he said, are “very disturbing,” and should be addressed by the board in a transparent manner.
