If NMC loses its accreditation, its students would no longer be eligible for federal financial aid and the course credits they earn couldn’t be transferred to other institutions.
Dean Felicitas Tee Abraham has been designated as NMC’s acting president.
NMC faculty members and students interviewed yesterday said they are optimistic that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges will reaffirm the college’s accreditation.
“We’re very hopeful,” a freshman student said, adding that since NMC was placed on a show-cause status, there have been improvements in its facilities and academic programs.
An employee, who also declined to be identified, said there was “positive feedback” from the visiting accrediting team in November and this should indicate a “positive turnout” for NMC.
“They were very happy to see the changes on campus,” the employee added.
The college was asked by the commission to show cause why its accreditation should not be revoked due to NMC’s failure to address the concerns raised in previous years.
These included NMC’s failure to establish integrated planning, program review and budgeting, as well as to institutionalize the program review process and employee evaluations.
Last Dec. 31, a supplemental report that enumerated the college’s efforts in complying with the team’s recommendations was submitted to the commission.
NMC submitted its first two reports on March 15 and Oct. 15.
The accrediting team made its final visit last November.
In its final report, the college spelled out NMC’s “governance structure — the Institutional Excellence Guide.”
In Feb. 2007, NMC’s accreditation was placed on probation.
Although the college said it made significant progress in its self-report and received positive commendations from the visiting team in Nov. 2006, NMC was still given the “lowest rate status.”
On Jan. 31, 2008, NMC was placed on a show-cause status and was given a year to comply with the accreditation standards.
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, which is an entity of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, does not follow the U.S. Department of Education’s two-year rule, which requires an accrediting team to give an institution at least two years to correct deficiencies and comply with accreditation standards.
But WASC has said that it will make some changes in its procedures to comply with the two-year rule.
