College of Micronesia - FSM

The Accreditation Committee operates through the authority of and reports to the President. Recommendations from the committee are submitted to the President for action.

The Accreditation Committee advises the President on matters relating to accreditation to ensure that the College of Micronesia – FSM maintains accreditation.

The members of the Accreditation Committee are:

• Accreditation Liaison Officer
• President
• Vice President for Instructional Affairs
• Vice President for Administrative Services
• Vice President for Student Services
• Vice President for Cooperative Research and Extension
• Director of Institutional Research and Planning
• Comptroller
• Director of Human Resources
• Director of Development and Community Relations
• Director of Information Technology
• Director of Facilities and Security
• Director of Academic Programs
• Director of Learning Resources Center
• Director of Student Life
• All Campus Directors (5)
• Faculty/Staff Senate representatives (2)
• Student representatives (2)

At the beginning of the academic year, the Faculty/Staff Senate recommends the two faculty representatives and the Student Body Association the two student representatives. The President then appoints the committee members based on the recommendations.

Responsibilities of committee members are to:

• Regularly prepare for and attend committee meetings
• Actively participate in meetings
• Share information on committee discussions, recommendations and decisions with and gather input from their area of representation
• Serve on a task force or subcommittee when needed

The Accreditation Liaison Officer chairs the Accreditation Committee. The chairperson’s responsibilities are to:

• Preside over meetings
• Ensure the terms of reference for the committee are met and matters brought before the committee are judiciously addressed
• Prepare and distribute the agenda prior to each meeting
• Ensure committee minutes, reports, and recommendations are completed and appropriately disseminated in a timely manner

A vice chairperson is elected at the beginning of the academic year. The responsibilities of the vice chairperson are to:

• Preside over meetings in the absence of the chair
• Assist the chairperson with the above responsibilities

A staff from the office of Development and Community Relations serves as the secretary. The responsibilities of the secretary are to:

• Take and prepare accurate minutes
• Distribute and post the minutes in a timely manner
• Record attendance of committee members

Meetings are held at least quarterly throughout the year. The schedule is determined at the beginning of each academic term. Meetings may become frequent as the college approaches major accrediting commission submission deadlines. The chairperson may call special meetings or upon consent of the majority of the members reschedule the regular meetings. Meetings may be held face-to-face or via teleconferences or other communication technologies. Twenty-five percent of members present constitute a quorum for discussion purposes. A majority vote of all members is required to act on a motion. Electronic voting may be utilized when necessary. Results of electronic voting are to be documented in the next committee meeting minutes.

The responsibilities of the Accreditation Committee are to:

• Gather information and put together major college reports for submission to the accrediting commission. Such reports will include but are not limited to:
  • Self Studies
  • Progress Reports
  • Substantive Change Reports
  • Annual Reports
  • Annual Fiscal Reports
  • And other reports requested by any accrediting body
• Review and make recommendations on policies that may impact accreditation.

Agenda items may be submitted to the chairperson by other members, other committees, or the President. The chairperson compiles the agenda and forwards it to committee members prior to meetings.

All meetings are to have minutes which are to be distributed electronically within three working days of the meeting to members for their review. Members are to comment within the next three working days. The minutes are officially adopted at the next meeting. The Accreditation Liaison Officer then distributes the official minutes to all committee members and to the President. The ALO office maintains a file on official Accreditation Committee minutes.

Following each meeting, the chairperson informs all concerned of decisions or forwards recommendations from the committee to the President. The chairperson also updates the members of the action taken on the committee’s recommendations.

Committee members convey concerns and input on current issues from their respective areas to the committee. They also discuss the issues being addressed by the committee and share committee minutes with the community they represent.

The college is actively working to improve its technical capacity to allow remote participation of members of the committee. Until that is achieved, remote members of the committee may select a proxy to act in their stead. Proxies must be regular employees of the college and reside on the island where the meeting is held. Committee members may not serve as a proxy.

Responsibilities of proxies are to:

• Attend committee meetings and perform the functions of a member in his/her absence
• Communicate regularly with the committee member to clarify the member’s view on issues and provide post-meeting feedback
• Vote on behalf of the member

When a proxy misses three meetings, the chairperson informs the committee member. A new proxy may be selected. When the committee member is able to attend a meeting, the member attends and keeps the proxy advised of the activities at that meeting (reversing the roles).