Accreditation:

The Second Progress Report that addressed the status of six (6) recommendations from the Accreditation Team that visited the College of Micronesia-FSM in March 2004 has been submitted to the Executive Director for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) office on March 18, 2005. The final decision on the Progress Report will be made when the Commission meets in June 2005.

I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to the college community, the accreditation working group, and especially Jessica Stam and the IRPO staff for efforts and hard work put into the writing of the progress report. It is a team effort and hats off to all of us, too.

Dr. Lily Owyang, WASC Senior Sfaff, who visited Pohnpei Campus on February 28, 2005 to March 1, 2005, has submitted her report to the Executive Director of WASC. The report commented positively on things that Pohnpei Campus has implemented on the Vocational Programs. Congratulations to Penny and her staff for a job well done. The report is attached for your information.

Annual Report:

The public law that established the College of Micronesia-FSM in 1993 requires the College to submit an annual report to the FSM President and the Speaker of the FSM Congress. This report is due by April 1, 2005. The College is working hard on writing the annual report and hope to submit this report on time.

Board of Regents:

The Board of Regents met in Yap State during the week of March 9-12, 2005, and acted on a number of policies like the dual enrollment policy. This policy will allow high school students with GPA of 3.5 and over to enroll in College level courses while they are still seniors in high school. Other important matters that the Regents acted on are stated in the Actions and Directives attached to this update.

The next Regents’ meeting will be in Pohnpei during the week of May 16, 2005.

Infrastructure Development at the COM-FSM

In January 2005 letters were sent to the FSM President, Speaker of the FSM Congress, Governors of the five FSM States, Speakers of the Legislatures in the FSM States, and the President of the Chuuk Senate asking them to set aside 5% of the $20 million set aside under Compact II for infrastructure development annually for the College. The request from the College was a topic of discussion at the recently completed EPIC meeting in Pohnpei on March 18, 2005. The Chairman of the Board, Mr. Podis Pedrus, Director of Maintenance, Mr. Francisco Mendiola, and President, Mr. Spensin James represented the College and presented the College request at the EPIC meeting.

The Chairman of the FSM Executive Budget Review Committee, the Honorable Redley Killion informed the COM-FSM delegation at the EPIC meeting that the Committee has given the College $2 million for infrastructure development in the fiscal year 2006 budget. The College is getting the whole amount that is earmarked for the National Government infrastructure development. This is good news for the College since it has been receiving an average of $340,000 annually for the past two years for infrastructure development.

Related to funding is the supplemental request in the amount of $100,000 for FSM-FMI that has been submitted to the FSM President’s Office for inclusion into his supplemental request to the FSM Congress. The FSM Congress will be acting on this request at its upcoming special session on March 21, 2005.

Hiring activities and resignations for March 2005

National Campus

New Hires:
Ambely Jacob – Student Services Assistant I (girls dormitory)
Kingston Anson – Student Services Aide (recreation)

Pohnpei Campus

New Hires:
Adleen Shed – Clerk Typist I

Yap Campus

Resignation:
Dedosia Mangarfir – Administrative Assistant I (UBP)

Thank you.