Update from the President's Office - No. 174

Board of Regents meeting.   A regular meeting of the COM-FSM Board of Regents was held December 6-8, 2000, as scheduled. The Actions and Directives resulting from this meeting are attached. Of special note is the approval of an increase in tuition from $60 to $75 per credit effective fall 2001 semester. The next meeting is scheduled to be held March 12-14, 2001, in Kosrae.

Campus Directors meeting.   A meeting of the campus directors was held December 4-6, 2000, to discuss the following agenda items: FY 2002 operations budgets; COM-FSM Capital Improvement Projects Budget Plan (2001-2007); current policy on program extension; Curriculum Committee recommendation regarding the IEP program; US financial assistance programs (presentation by officials from Region IX); business/finance issues; and personnel issues, among others. In addition, campus directors participated in a meeting of the Planning Council and Sponsored Programs Committee during the week.

Midterm accreditation visit.   In Update 173 mention was made of a visit to be made by Accrediting Commissioner John Cruz to validate the College's Midterm Report that had been submitted on November 1, 2000. Unfortunately, Mr. Cruz was unable to visit as planned due to illness. That visit will be rescheduled for some time early next semester when classes resume.

Yap Campus update.   According to a report from Yap Campus Director Lourdes Roboman, students at Yap Campus have elected officers who are as follows: Marmaw Tured - President; Sesario Segam - Vice President; Rhonda Bethogmar - Secretary; Lourdes Limed - Treasurer; Brandon Hasugmog - Yap Proper Rep; and Nolan Rug - Outer Island Rep. Congratulations to all of you!

Yap Campus observed alcohol awareness week by showing videos on drug and alcohol abuse. Also, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counselor gave a presentation to the students.

Designs for the proposed classroom building for Yap Campus have been completed. One classroom is being built with funding provided by FEMA. An additional three classrooms will be added when funding becomes available. The Land Grant research lab is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in March 2001. Landscaping of the campus has been completed. However, the parking areas have not yet been completed due to the lack of coral.

Lourdes has been appointed to the Yap Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Board of Directors by the Yap State Governor. Being a member of this board will be beneficial to the planning for training programs to meet state needs. Priority training areas which have already been identified include small business management, tourism, and trades.

Performance Based budgeting.   The College has been involved in a series of workshops with regards to implementation of performance based budgeting which is being required by the FSM Government. Pat Keehley, Project Manager from the USDA Graduate School, spent approximately two hours with College staff on December 12, 2000, to present the format that will be required including a method of calculating program/activity costs. Director of Research and Planning Greg Myers, Comptroller Bob Epstein, and Chuuk Campus Director Graceful Enlet attended a three-day train-the-trainers workshop in Honolulu on the software to be required by the FSM. The College's FY 2002 budget will be converted to the required format prior to submission to the FSM President. The integrity of the line item budget approved by the Board of Regents will be preserved in this conversion.

Cholera update.   According to data obtained from Public Health, as if December 6, 2000, hospital admissions due to cholera have declined significantly. However, cases of cholera are still being reported in the outpatient department and emergency room. Although the number of cases being report is significantly less than during the height of the epidemic, cases are still being reported. Therefore, I would like to urge all staff and students to continue to be vigilant in prevention efforts. Please be especially careful during holiday gatherings.

Keropin David named to The National Dean's List.   I have been informed that Keropin David, who recently completed the Principals' Leadership Academy, has been selected to have his biography published in The National Dean's List, 1999-2000. According to the letter from the publisher, "[s]ince only ½ of 1% of the students from our nation's 3,000 colleges and universities are honored in The National Dean's List each year, we commend you for your fine academic achievements." Congratulations to Keropin for achieving this honor!

Personnel.   The College is pleased to welcome Robert Andreas who was hired on December 4, 2000, as the Linguistics Instructor for the National Language and Culture Institute. Also a warm welcome is extended to Regina Faimau who also began work on December 4, 2000, as a Secretary I at FSM FMI.

Leaving the College are Dr. Michael Caldwell, who will be completing his contract on December 29, 2000, and Dean Anthony, who resigned effective December 12, 2000. We wish both individuals the very best in the future.

Mary Snaden will be transferring back to the National Campus Languages and Literature Division and begin teaching this spring.

Director of Personnel Linda Maradol received a message from Paul Hadik, IEP instructor at Kosrae Campus, on November 28, 2000, announcing the birth of Kevin Danial Hadik the previous day. Kevin weighed in at 10 pounds and both mother and baby are doing fine. Congratulations, Paul!

Christmas wishes.   This is the time of year when we pause to reflect on the past year and to express appreciation to those who work so very hard to ensure the delivery of quality postsecondary education programs and services to the people of the FSM. In recognition of the dedicated services provided by our faculty and staff, I am pleased to announce that December 22nd and January 2nd will be given as administrative leave. Staff who by the nature of their responsibilities will be required to work will be provided holiday pay. Thank you all for your support this past year. Best wishes for the holidays!