MEMORANDUM

It was reported in the last President Update that a two-member visiting team from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) will be visiting the College of Micronesia-FSM (COM-FSM) during the week of April 25-26, 2009.  However, due schedule changes for the two visiting team members, only one member, Commissioner Floyd Takeuchi, will be visiting the college during the week of April 28-May 1, 2009.  The Commissioner will be visiting the Chuuk site to observe the proposed permanent site. Mr. Takeuchi will also visit the National and Pohnpei sites as well as meeting with the two COM-FSM Board of Regents members on Pohnpei.

The purposes of the visit are to:

• verify the accuracy and relevance of the Follow-Up report submitted by the college on March 15, 2009, in response to the Commission recommendations and concern


• determine the extent to which the institution now meets the Commission standards cited in the recommendations


• report findings and recommendations to the Commission

The College hired two consultants to help review its assessment efforts as well as to finalize the substantive change report for the multi-level nursing program, which was submitted on April 15, 2009. The two consultants were Dr. Karen Merriman and Dr. Alan Belcher. The two have assisted the College of the Marshall Islands and the Northern Marianas College on their assessment of student learning outcomes and development of their nursing programs. Dr. Belcher visited offices and talked with people about assessment-related issues. Dr. Merriman was tasked with writing the multi-level nursing substantive change proposal which was submitted to WASC on April 15, 2009.

The following are the assessment synopsizes from the two consultants: the college is well into the development of its overall assessment plan.  The College has also begun gathering evidence of student learning around some of the outcomes, particularly at the course level.  The College has developed many of the pieces of a robust assessment plan and is moving forward with gaining institution-wide acceptance and implementation.

With the advances that the College has implemented regarding assessment, there are still issues/concerns that appear to be facing the COM-FSM and these will be discussed with the wider college community sometimes during the month of April.

The College of Micronesia-FSM submitted its FY 2010 budget request to the FSM government on February 2009.  The funding levels requested by the college for FY 2010 and the recommended funding level from the government are as follow:

The College has been receiving from the National Government the funding level of $3.8 million for the past 4 years. Due to inflation and accreditation requirements, the college submitted a budget of $3.9 million for the operation of its five campuses.  The reduction from 3.9 M to 3.6 M will impact the operation of the college and may also impact the college’s continuous compliance with accreditation standards.

The Pacific Postsecondary Education Council (PPEC) in collaboration with Hawaii Community Colleges and the Community College Leadership Development Initiative (CCLDI) based out of San Diego is offering the first Hawaii Development Academy during the week of July 6-10, 2009 at the Hawaii Tokai International College. 

The PPEC will be sponsoring up to 4 participants from each of the member institutions.  Each member institution may add more participants if the intuition can afford.

The theme for the upcoming Hawaii Summer Leadership Academy is: “Preparing Leaders for the 21st Century”.  Some of the topics that will be discussed during Academy include: leaders as open learners with clear values and leaders as innovators and change agents.

The CCLDI representatives at the PPEC meeting in Honolulu during the week of April 4-5, 2009 recommended that institutions should bring a team consisting of a board member, faculty, student services, administrator and students.  The college administration will be working with the vice presidents to determine who will represent the college at the academy.

FSM President Jacob Nena signed the enabling law that established the College of Micronesia-FSM on April 1, 1993.  Since that date, the College has observed and celebrated its founding by alternating track and field events with cultural performances. This year, the college showcases cultural performances to celebrate it founding. National and Pohnpei campuses students from islands in the FSM performed cultural dances at the field next to Pohnpei Island Central School. The College has also implemented a Micronesian Studies Program at the College, which also aims to preserve Micronesian cultures and traditions, through the studying of Micronesian cultures, economy and contemporary issues.

The theme for Founding Day 2009 was “16 Years of Cultural Preservation”.  The six college campuses observed the college’s founding on April 1, 2009.