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M E M O R A N D U M October 18 , 2006 To: All Concerned From: President, COM-FSM Subject: Update #284 Accreditation The President for the Accrediting Commission for Junior and Community Colleges for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Dr. Barbara A. Beno's visit to the College of Micronesia-FSM went very well. She visited the National and Pohnpei Campuses during the week of October 3-6, 2006. She had series of meetings with the FSM President His Excellency Joseph J. Urusemal, Chairman of the Committee on Health Education and Social Affairs of the FSM Congress, Senator Resio Moses, Governor Johnny P. David, Vice Speaker of Pohnpei Legislature, The Honorable Bernie Martin, Chairman of the COM-FSM Board of Regents, Mr. Podis Pedrus, and USA Ambassador to the FSM, Her Excellency Suzanne Hale. Major topics of Dr. Beno's discussions with the leaders of the National and Pohnpei State Governments were on accreditation process and the impact of the proposed bill in the FSM Congress that will amend Section 722 of the Title 40 of the FSM Code, which will change the hiring procedures of the College and gives preferences to the ablest FSM citizens. Dr. Beno also met with cabinet and key staff at the COM-FSM and discussed with them matters related to accreditation and including the Spelling Commission's Report and how it will impact accreditation. Dr. Beno also met with Staff Senate Executive Committee and had a teleconference with Campus Directors. Dr. Beno departed Pohnpei on October 6, 2006. She plans to return to Pohnpei later to conduct the training for the College staff on the next self study report. Board of Regents The Board of Regents in a teleconference on Tuesday, 10/17/2006, approved the use of the college's fund balance to fund the student information system (SIS) and developmental education diagnostic software; the purchase of furniture, fencing and toilet water tanks for Chuuk campus; college wide facilities master plan; and LRC and Bookstore improvements. Information has been received from the FSM President's Office that Chuuk Governor has nominated Mr. Graceful Enlet as the next COM-FSM Board of Regent member to represent the State of Chuuk. The position has been vacant since December 2005. The confirmation of Mr. Enlet is pending the next FSM Congress session. Retention Problems at Higher Institutions of Learning The following is taken from "The Teaching Professor". "Current retention research concludes that overall student success is definitely tied to how students feel in the classroom and at their institution. Studies done over the last twenty-five years suggest that one of the most crucial factors in helping students complete their programs involve creating an inclusive atmosphere of community. The current retention rate at the College of Micronesia-FSM is at 51%. This is a high rate that we all need to work together on to decrease. We hope that collaborations between the College and Education Systems in the FSM that are being planned may help in increasing this retention rate. Send us your suggestions to include in the next update. World Park Planning Meeting at Michigan State University The Michigan State University and the College of Micronesia-FSM will jointly coordinate a planning meeting for the World Park Initiative at the Michigan State University for delegates from the four FSM States during the week of November 24-30, 2006. The resource people from these two institutions will be utilized throughout the meeting to assist the delegates to fully comprehend the Michigan State University resources available and to be able to plan accordingly. There will be a pre-meeting scheduled for November 26, 2006 on the MSU Campus and is currently called the "FSM Unity" meeting in which participants will be able to discuss state needs issues and come to a decision on national unity with a desired result of the World Park Planning Committee being configured with representation from each State. It is our hope that this World Park Planning Committee can be transmitted to the National Government by the Governors for inclusion of a National Government representative (if the Governors desire). Michigan State University is hosting a "heads of the state" reception at Coyles House on Monday, November 27, 2006. It appears there is an effort to invite Michigan State Governor Granholm to attend this reception. The meeting agenda is being configured and will be finalized in draft form by the middle of this month. The Governors have requested that agenda be finalized for their review. The Confirmation list for the upcoming COM-FSM/MSU Work Park Planning Meeting is as follows:
Mr. Howard Rice is currently visiting Chuuk State as requested by Governor Simina to work with the State of Chuuk on their budget for the World Park proposal. Governor Sigrah has also requested Mr. Rice to travel to Kosrae State and also work with them on their World Park budget. The Michigan State University and the College of Micronesia-FSM has supported the Work Park initiative in the past and continues to do that. We hope that the meeting at Michigan State University next month will convince the FSM State Leadership that World Park initiative is a viable project for the States. College to Hold First Phi Theta Kappa Induction Ceremony The College of Micronesia-FSM will hold its first induction ceremony for Phi Theta Kappa on Friday, October 20, 2006 in the Practice Gym starting at 6:00 p.m. The ceremony will be the final step in establishing the Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society at the COM-FSM. The College has invited to this ceremony high-level leaders from the National and State Governments as well as parents of students that will be inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa. There are 31 students from the National and Pohnpei Campuses that will be inducted into Phi Theta Kappa on Friday night. Mid-Year Graduation Seventy-four (74) students from the National and ten (10) students from Pohnpei Campuses have submitted their applications for mid-year graduation on December 15, 2006. The other three campuses in Chuuk, Kosrae, and Yap have not submitted completed applications for students that have applied to graduate during mid-year graduation. Best wishes to all of these hard working students. Reminder on 2004 Board of Regents Approved Programs at National and State Campuses The following are the Board of Regents approved programs at the National Campus:
The State Campuses will offer the following:
There were no changes made on these yet. Implementation of new programs at the state campuses still requires availability of fiscal resources. Accreditation Process Accreditation is the process for evaluating and assuring the quality of education used by the American higher education community. It is an assurance process through which institutions collectively set standards for good practice, conduct peer-based evaluations of institutions on a regular basis, confer accredited status on institutions, and make the results of accreditation review of institutions known to the public. Through accreditation, the higher education community shoulders the responsibility for monitoring the quality of the programs and services of member institutions. Agencies that develop and apply standards are often called accrediting commissions. Accrediting commission were created by the collective group of institutions that wished to engage in the quality review and assurance process, and those institutions were and are referred to as the member institutions of a commission.
The purposes of ACCJC are to evaluate member institutions to assure the educational community, the general public, and other organizations and agencies that an institution has clearly defined objectives appropriate to higher education; has established conditions under which their achievement can reasonably be expected; appears in fact to be accomplishing them substantially; is so organized, staffed, and supported that it can be expected to continue to do so; and demonstrates that it meets Commission standards. The Commission encourages and supports institutional development and improvement through self-study and periodic evaluation by qualified peer professionals. Prior to making a formal application, an institution wishing to become a Candidate for Accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, must begin by assessing itself in relation to the basic criteria for institutional eligibility (Eligibility Requirements) through an Eligibility Application and supporting documentation. The institution should also review the standards of accreditation and Commission policies, which provide a clear statement of ultimate Commission expectations of institutional performance and quality and give further definition to the eligibility criteria. The eligibility process is designed to screen institutions prior to a period of formal and extensive institutional self-study so that only institutions, which meet the basic criteria for eligibility, may proceed. Following review, the institution may be granted or denied eligibility. Please refer to ACCJC Publications in the menu bar above. If Eligibility is granted, the institution may apply for candidacy status by completing and submitting a Self Study Report using the Standards of Accreditation, the Self Study Manual, and other Commission policies and resources. This report is supported by evidence that is retained at the college for review by the accreditation team. The report is submitted to the Commission, which sends a team to visit the college for the purpose of determining if the institution meets the standards, policies and eligibility criteria of the Commission. Following the review, the institution may be granted candidacy or extension, deferral, denial, or termination of candidacy by the Commission. If initial accreditation is granted, the institution then begins a six-year cycle of periodic review for reaffirmation of accreditation, which has several parts. These include a six-year comprehensive evaluation, a midterm evaluation in the third year, annual reports and annual fiscal reports to the Commission, and other progress and substantive change reports and visits as deemed necessary by the Commission. Visits to evaluate a college by representatives of the accrediting commission are done on the expense of the receiving institution. The College of Micronesia-FSM, consisting of six campuses, undergoes the periodic reviews, report submissions and visitations as a system. The college is granted its accreditation status against its compliance with the commission's Eligibility Requirements, Standards, and Policies. When the ACCJC reaffirms the college's accreditation status, the entire college, with all its many campuses, shares the same accreditation status. The college is not accredited by campus but as a whole. Should the college be accredited by campus, then the commission Eligibility Requirements, Standards, and Policies will require the multiplication of duties and posts for each campus in order to remain in compliance. This would mean six presidents, six vice presidents for each department, and probably six times the current cost of running the college. - Information taken from the ACCJC website. Updates from Institutional Research and Planning Office Data entry for the Fall Semester 2006 Orientation (571 respondents) and Registration (1,287 respondents) surveys has been completed with all six campuses participating. Analysis and dissemination of results are expected to be completed before November 2006. IPEDS Fall 2006 data collection and reporting of institutional characteristics and completion data is being completed. Program completion data collected and reported in IPEDS follows.
Notes: 1) Programs with an asterisk (*) are those offered at FSM - FMI Campus in Yap 2) When reporting completion data for IPEDS we don't include graduates from FSM - FMI Campus 3) Refer to the following breakdown for more detail on campus graduates.
Implementation planning meetings for the Strategic plan were held with human resources, student services and facilities and security at the national campus. Emphasized during the sessions was development of annual improvement plans and tools and strategies implementing the strategic plan. Tuition Increase Hearing(s): Tuition increase public hearings are being conducted across the College campuses. At National Campus, the first hearing was conducted Tuesday morning. 10/17/2006. The second hearing is on Wednesday afternoon, 10/18/2006 at the FSM-China Friendship Center Main Gym. These are hearings to solicit comments and questions from students, faculty and staff, parents and the general public regarding the proposed $10/credit tuition increase effective Spring 2007. TC&I: A meeting took place on Tuesday, October 17, 2006, between the Secretary of TC&I and the COM-FSM President, VPA, and Director of Maintenance. In the meeting, it was made clear by the TC&I Secretary that funding for the College's Infrastructure Development Projects will be available despite the confusion surrounding the $2.18 million appropriated to the College by the FSM Congress. CMU Report/Technology Report: The Carnegie Mellon Consultants/Interns who worked with us - in the IT Division - this past summer have submitted their Final Report. A copy of the report has been forwarded to the President. Should anyone be interested in reading it, please see IT Director Gordon Segal. Our appreciation goes to Consultans/Interns Patrick Nagel and Tracy Wong of Carnegie Mellon University. FY08: The FY 08 budget is "under construction". The Comptroller consolidated the line item budget as submitted to him by the Vice Presidents. He has submitted the consolidated the budget to the President and VPs for review (trimming). We hope to accomplish this task within the next 10 days. In the meantime, the Research and Planning Office is trying to put together the Performance Budget. While they may have most of the budget inputs from various offices, there are some offices that still have not submitted their information. Student Essay Contest: The APAFS-PRIC Essay Contest saw only two essays being submitted. The two contestants were Ms. Georgelina Reyuw and Mr. Sergio Keller. Sergio's essay - "My Experience in Stock Market Investment" came in first while Georgelina's essay - Regional Economic Issues — was the runner up. The College applauds the effort that both students put into the work and congratulates Sergio upon his winning the contest. He will be traveling to Manila, Philippines, (all expenses paid) on November 7th to represent the COM-FSM and to present his essay at the Pacific Region Investment Conference-PRIC. (Stop press): Good news just received: There is an open 7th place award just made available for the Essay contest. COM-FSM's runner up will compete for this spot with one runner up from each of the other 6 colleges. So, Go Georgelina! Faculty, staff, and advisers are urged to encourage students to participate in and take advantage of opportunities like these in the future. Update from Human Resources Division New Hires: National Campus:
Kosrae Campus
Chuuk Campus
Thank you.
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