NIC board facing scrutiny from accreditor

COEUR d’ALENE — As North Idaho College 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.”

Wednesday’s regular board meeting was the last before NIC must submit another report to its accreditor, the 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.

She emphasized that the site visit team is well-versed in NIC’s accreditation problems and will want to see concrete changes in board behavior. The team may question whether trustees are merely “putting on a show” of good behavior in order to retain accreditation and will need strong assurances.

“We know that everybody’s goal is to have NIC resolve accreditation issues and return to good standing,” DiThomas said.

After the October site visit, the NWCCU team will have seven days to submit a draft report of its findings to NIC. The college will have seven days to report errors of fact. Within a further seven days, NIC will receive the formal report from the accreditor.

The report will be taken into consideration when the NWCCU meets in January to make a decision on North Idaho College’s status.

Burke said it’s not realistic to expect NIC to go from show cause status to good standing in a single step. A more likely positive outcome would be for NIC to receive a reduced sanction, such as being placed on probation. From there, the college could continue to improve its standing.

Board chair Mike Waggoner said he feels confident that NIC will receive a reduction in sanctions.

“I’m looking at it as being pretty positive,” he said. “We’re telling them what’s going on and we’ve made a lot of progress. Obviously, it’s up to them to decide what they’re going to do.”

Federal regulations stipulate that NIC has until April 1, 2025, to return to good standing. If the college has not done so by that deadline, the NWCCU will be required to withdraw accreditation.