Latest NIC accreditation report: Progress made, but college not out of woods yet

COEUR d’ALENE — Governance has improved at North Idaho College, according to a new report, but accreditors caution that the improvements may not last.

A team from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities conducted a site visit at NIC on Oct. 14 and 15 and prepared a 14-page peer evaluation report, which the college made public Thursday afternoon.

Read the full report at bonnercountydailybee.com 

The site visit was the last one before NIC’s deadline to return to good standing. Since early last year, NIC has operated under a show cause sanction, the last step before loss of accreditation. Federal regulations stipulate that the college has until April 1, 2025, to resolve the remaining issues identified by the accrediting body, most of which involve college governance and trustee behavior.

Evaluators said they heard many compliments on the “respectful and professional” leadership of board chair Mike Waggoner. The report said Waggoner “appears to have internalized specific (Association of Community College Trustees) training and the results have helped NIC heal.” 

Though the tenor of board meetings has become more professional and respectful in recent months, evaluators said they were presented with recent examples of “negative and unproductive” interactions between NIC President Nick Swayne and individual trustees. 

“Despite past experiences, the president has been earnest in building a positive relationship with the board chair and other board members, as well as with the ACCT consultants,” the report said. “Even so, forging a truly unified, mutually supportive presidential and board-wide relationship remains a work in progress and will require effort, more time, and respectfully authentic communication.” 

Overall, evaluators found evidence of governance improvements at NIC, though the sustainability of positive changes remains to be seen.

“For one, their history is itself too short — perhaps a few months, at best — to constitute convincing assurance that the shifts are permanent, particularly in light of the two-plus years of elapsed time since NWCCU’s initial sanctions,” the report said. “Further, in interviews onsite, no one expressed high confidence in the sustainability of the board’s current trajectory.” 

Evaluators also highlighted a budgetary risk to NIC. 

Though NIC has reduced the “fiscal impacts of litigation, governance and accreditation issues arising from board actions in recent years,” evaluators pointed to the college’s return to the National Junior College Athletic Association and the associated costs as a financial concern. 

The board’s 3-2 decisions to switch athletics conferences and cover all student athlete expenses have “placed a multi-million-dollar burden on NIC’s budget and a substantial hidden tax on NIC’s academic and student support services,” the report said. 

NIC’s athletics budget has increased from about $2.2 million to about $6 million. This includes $1.6 million budgeted to cover tuition, room and board, books and a round-trip flight for all student athletes playing sports associated with the Scenic West Athletic Conference. 

NIC is expected to spend just shy of $1.3 million in tuition and fees for student athletes in fiscal year 2025. 

“NIC’s current budget model, with athletics at the center, remains a risk to the college and is not sustainable in terms of governance, finance and personnel,” the report said. 

Faculty have noted increased demand for “online, hybrid or athlete-driven course scheduling to accommodate class absences due to increased travel, posing an especially difficult challenge for hands-on courses like lab sciences.” 

Staff and faculty have also “scrambled” to provide adequate academic support services to meet student needs. 

“Particularly for international recruits, needed services include language assistance, legal travel support (visa, passport, basic transportation), personal care needs, weekend and holiday housing/meals, and general community connectedness. These efforts come with associated costs, none of which are accounted for in the athletics budget or faculty/staff workloads,” the report said. 

Evaluators said a budget model adjustment can ensure sustainability by restructuring a “practical, long-term athletics budget,” restoring annual capital reserve funds used to fill the gap in athletics funding and address staffing changes. 

“Ideally, the work can re-engage faculty and staff in ways that honor their expertise and professionalism, thereby rebuilding trust and returning the collective focus to NIC’s mission,” the report said.

In January, NIC representatives will go before the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities in Seattle. There, accreditors will meet to decide NIC’s status.