COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — As North Idaho College (NIC) prepares for an October site visit from its accreditor, the issues of board governance and trustee behavior loom large.
Trustees convened Tuesday for a special meeting on NIC’s main campus to discuss the matter. Joining them were Debbie DiThomas and Ken Burke, consultants from the Association of Community College Trustees.
“They’re coming here because of the recommendations that relate to the board,” Burke told trustees, referring to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities’ site visit team. “The ones that relate to the college have been resolved, according to the accreditation authority. They’re looking at you as a board. They’re rating you on this.”
Tonight’s regular board meeting is the last before NIC must submit another report to its accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). In March, the commission noted that NIC lacks a “functioning governing board responsible for the quality and integrity of the institution.”
Now that NIC has addressed several of the problems outlined by its accreditor, including updating policies and resolving multiple lawsuits, trustees must show they’ve made strides when it comes to college governance and that the improvements are sustainable.
DiThomas said the purpose of the site visit, set for Oct. 14 and 15, is to verify the contents of the report submitted to the NWCCU.
The site visit team will meet with trustees, both individually and as a group, as well as with constituency group leaders to assess progress toward resolving the issues identified by the accrediting body.
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