President's Message to the Community

February 15, 2013

Dear Colleagues and Fellow Members of the COM-FSM Community,

Our community has made significant progress in so many areas during 2012. While we have much work yet to do, I remain optimistic that we will be successful in achieving the goals presented in the White Paper (April 20, 2012).

As we prepare to submit the College Status Report on Student Learning Outcomes Implementation (SLO Report), the required Midterm Report combined with a Follow-Up Report to the ACCJC on March 15, 2013, let us continue our commitment to the mission and values of COM-FSM, ACCJC Accreditation Standards, and moving beyond compliance to constructive engagement.

On behalf of the Board of Regents, I express my gratitude to everyone who has participated in, and contributed to the work that is documented in these critically important reports. As president, I am proud of the efforts of administrators, faculty, staff and students who actively engage in the participatory governance process that continues to strengthen this institution and support its continuous improvement.

The quality and quantity of evidence provided in the SLO Report should serve as a source of pride, especially to our faculty. If you have not already done so, I would encourage the entire community to read the report and be prepared to be impressed.

Every day we witness individual and collective efforts to successfully address accreditation issues for which we are on probation, and to ensure we understand and embrace accreditation as an ongoing process that serves to strengthen the college. The number of Regents, administrators, faculty and staff who have successfully completed the Accreditation Basics On-Line Course (247) is an important indicator of this commitment.

Several of our state campuses have reported 100% completion. It is also reported that the Pohnpei Campus and National Campus will offer accreditation training for our non-English speaking employees. We are proud of this initiative as it represents an important and inclusive step in ensuring that everyone who works at the college can understand and embrace accreditation.

Let me offer my congratulations to everyone who has successfully completed the course and words of encouragement to those of you who have yet to take the course. I hope you will consider taking the course soon.

 As well, the college’s Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) has been providing accreditation training “Accreditation Boot Camp,” across college campuses and this training will be completed February 22, 2013.

This fall the state campuses completed respective mini visioning summits. The Institutional Research and Planning Office compiled data from the summits to inform the draft mission statement. The Executive Committee has held several meetings during which working groups were established to develop the committee’s Terms of Reference (TOR) and to prepare a draft strategic plan.  Consistent with our commitment to transparency, purposeful dialogue and participatory governance, committees will receive regular working drafts of the mission statement and strategic plan summary for review and input. The working group is scheduled to complete a draft mission statement and strategic plan summary by the end of February.

Once the mission statement review process is completed, it will be presented to the Board of Regents for their review, feedback and approval.

We are waiting for final approval and funding for the college-wide space utilization study in support of a college facilities master plan. The completion of this study and the development of a facilities master plan is an essential component of the integrated educational master plan. It will effectively inform both our short and long term planning.

We have submitted the 2014 budget to the FSM government. The budget reflects the needs, goals and objectives articulated in the integrated educational master plan and supports ongoing fulfillment of the college’s mission. The 2014 budget contains a modest tuition increase, and facilities fee so the college can effectively meet the total cost of ownership (TCO), increased utility and maintenance costs and ensure we continue to meet ACCJC Standard III: Resources-Standard IIIB: Physical Resources.

Continued financial support for the 2014 budget by the FSM Congress, especially the restoration of the scheduled $1.4 million decrement will be critical to our ability to achieve the integrated educational master plan and to address the accreditation issues for which the college is on probation. Such financial support from our nation’s leaders will support our accreditation related commitment and progress to move from compliance to constructive engagement.

I convey my appreciation to you for all of your work, efforts and dedication in service to the students we serve. Each of us plays an important role in the successful implementation of the mission of COM-FSM. A year ago when I joined you as president, I called upon us to “confront our challenges and create our future.” Given how well we have all come together, how well we communicate with each other, and our shared purpose to secure the future for COM-FSM and our students, we can only grow stronger.

It is a privilege for me to serve you as president.

Warm regards,

Joe

Joseph M. Daisy, Ed.D.

President and Chief Executive Officer