Historical Reference

Brief History of the College

The history of the College of Micronesia-FSM (COM-FSM) reflects the growth of the Federated States of Micronesia as a nation. The college originated in 1963 when the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) contracted the University of Hawaii to administer the Micronesian Teacher Education Center, an in-service training facility for selected TTPI teachers.

In 1969, emphasis shifted from in-service to pre-service; students were recruited from the high schools and college credits were awarded through Kapiolani Community College in Hawaii. However, when the TTPI High Commissioner in 1970 signed Administrative Directive No. 70-2 changing the name of the center to Community College of Micronesia (CCM), the college began offering a college curriculum in its own name. Beginning in 1971, the TTPI Department of Education began assuming more responsibility for the college; the university involvement was phased out in 1973. CCM remained essentially a teacher college until 1974 when the first non-education-related associate degree program was added to the curriculum.

Another administrative change occurred in 1978 when an act of the Seventh Congress of Micronesia joined CCM with the then Micronesian Occupational Center in Palau and the College’s nursing school in Saipan to form the College of Micronesia (COM) as a public corporation governed by a Board of Regents. The nursing school later was moved to Majuro and became the College of the Marshall Islands. In 1987, the newly independent nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a treaty affirming a desire to continue supporting COM.

However, in 1991, the three nations signed an agreement to restructure COM to allow more local autonomy. As a result, in 1992, the Seventh Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia passed Public Law No. 7-79 establishing the College of Micronesia-FSM as a public corporation under its own Board of Regents. Thus, on April 1, 1993, the College of Micronesia-FSM became the national college of the federation.

The college is comprised of a national campus located in Palikir on Pohnpei, and a state campus in each state. In 1999, through a memorandum of understanding with the national government, COM-FSM accepted management of the FSM Fisheries and Maritime Institute in Yap.

The college is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation was awarded in 1978 and reaffirmed in 1982, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2005, and 2013.

Enabling Law

The Seventh Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia through Public Law No. 7-79 established the College of Micronesia-FSM as a public corporation and as the postsecondary educational entity within the Federated States of Micronesia to serve the varied postsecondary and adult educational needs of the nation. As such, the college is mandated to:

1. Provide for such services as postsecondary instruction, teacher training, continuing education, cultural education, adult basic education, vocational education, extension services, post-high school college preparatory instruction and assistance, administration of postsecondary education financial assistance programs for students attending COM-FSM, monitoring COM-FSM student performance, and other postsecondary education related functions;
2. Maintain accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and other appropriate accreditation institutions;
3. Develop and offer certificate and degree programs in fields that will meet the development and manpower needs of the states and the nation;
4. Assist, when requested, in any training and education programs and services currently being provided to adults and out-of-school youths by various public and private agencies and organizations;
5. Develop and conduct outreach programs where there is an established need and available funding;
6. Serve as an instruction, research and extension site for Land Grant programs for COM and/or COM-FSM, be eligible to receive funding, endowments and interest available to Land Grant institutions, and provide instruction, training, coordination, assistance and financial and other support for Land Grant programs;
7. Coordinate with other educational institutions in the Micronesian region and other locations, for such matters as the transfer of credits and programs, reciprocal treatment of students for immigration, work-study, and other purposes, coordination of exchange programs, joint and cooperative research or educational programs, and such other matters that deal with the cooperative interactions between COM-FSM and other educational institutions;
8. Coordinate and cooperate with the respective education departments in each of the states and with the national government department of human resources, division of education, for the effective shared use of resources, including, but not limited to, facilities, equipment, personnel, technical assistance, funding, and educational support services;
9. Conduct and support research relevant to the needs of the states and the national government of the Federated States of Micronesia to the degree funding is available particularly as relevant to assessing ongoing training, educational, and technological needs;
10. Administer, coordinate, and provide services related to postsecondary student financial assistance provided by governmental and other sources for students attending COM-FSM and other affiliated programs;
11. Serve as a postsecondary education testing center;
12. Support and fund continuing education centers and/or other affiliated programs in the states;
13. Upon specific request, serve as an assisting and coordinating agency for all postsecondary education activities conducted within the Federated States of Micronesia when requested by other agencies and organizations; and
14. Provide other postsecondary and adult education related activities as determined by the board and as financially feasible..

See appendix 1 for Public Law No. 7-79 as amended by Public Law No. 8-144 in its entirety.

Organizing Principles

The college, in accordance with recognized professional standards, has a representative governance structure to insure institutional autonomy, academic freedom, principles of equality, and insulation from political interference in order to best serve the public interest.

Past and Present Board Members

*Initial two-year term

**Filing unexpired term