Accreditation:

College of Micronesia-FSM campuses are busy reviewing and re-developing the organizational structure of the College. A sample organizational chart was attached to the last update to show our readers and college community a sample of the charts that being developed by different groups. These charts will be used to develop a revised organizational chart that will be presented to the Board at their September 6-9, 2004 meeting. Again, these attached charts are models and not the final charts.

The College is submitting a Substantive Change Report for FSM-FMI to Accrediting Commission for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) for review and action sometimes during the Fall Semester 2004.

Chuuk Campus Permanent Site

The College administration learned last week that Compact II funds could not be used in purchasing land for infrastructure construction. The acquisition of a permanent site for Chuuk Campus will require the College to purchase adjacent land to Chuuk Star Hotel.

Board of Regents:

The College of Micronesia-FSM Board of Regents will be meeting in Chuuk during the week of September 6-9, 2004. Some of the items to be discussed at the BOR meeting will include: Role: Instructional Programs at National and State Campuses, organizational chart for the College, and Substantive Change Report for the FSM-FMI.

Chuuk Campus:

Faculty/Staff workshops were conducted during the week of August 11-13, 2004. Presentations were conducted by the following: English, Math/Science, Business, Social Science, Conservation Education, Cultural Studies, and Director's Office.

Director Joakim Peter called a meeting for the Chuuk Campus Management Team, which consisted of all department heads and program leaders on August 12, 2004. The topic of discussion was to get their comments or suggestions about the different models of the College's organizational structure. This Committee will be meeting again to come up with a model that will be presented at the Director's meeting in Pohnpei during the week of August 30-September 2, 2004.

Donated books and archive materials from Trust Territory period, were received from the University of Washington. These books and materials will be placed in the library.

Chuuk Campus Student Activities Coordinator Marcellus Akapito, selected by the FSM National Olympic Committee, is the coach for the track team representing FSM in Athens, Greece this month. The Campus' faculty/staff wish these athletes all the lucks and a safe journey.

Director Joakim Peter is the co chairman of Parents of Special Education Children (POSCA) in Chuuk State. This organization is hosting the FSM Parents/Consumer Annual Conference with parents from abroad as well as the FSM.

Planning Council Reactivated:

After a dormant period, Planning Council is being re-activated. The membership has been changed to include the chairs of all standing committees, representatives of the Staff and Faculty Senate, the student body and proxy members to represent the state campuses. The first meeting included discussion on the change of membership in Planning Council and some proposed improvements to communication for the College. The immediate task of the Planning Council will be to provide assistance in integrating strategic planning into the work of the College and, in the process, to address recommendation #4 of the WASC accreditation evaluation. Council members were encouraged to bring forward the concerns and issues of the members of their committees, the state campuses they represent and the Senate.

Committee members agreed that this new format could guide the College through the process of planning and can help address institutional effectiveness and improvement in order to meet WASC standards. The committee reviewed recommendation $4 and staff from the Research and Planning Office suggested strategies to address this recommendation. The first strategy was to re-activate Planning Council. The second was to evaluate the College of Micronesia-FSM's Strategic Plan. This evaluation will begin in the fall with a report for both WASC and the COM-FSM community culminating in the spring. The goals of this project will be to (a) adjust the direction of the institution based on inputs from stakeholders; and (b) develop ways for the institution to incorporate strategic thinking and planning into its decision-making process.

Fall Semester 2004 Registration:

The Fall Semester 2004 registration commenced at five of the six campuses on August 17, 2004. As of Monday, August 23, 2004, National Campus has registered 876 students, which is below the projected enrollment for Fall Semester 2004. As of August 23, 2004,

Pohnpei Campus has registered about 500 students, which is over its projected enrollment for Fall Semester 2004. Chuuk and Kosrae Campuses have registered 650 and 251 students respectively for their Fall Semester 2004 courses as of Monday, August 23, 2004.

National Campus:

National Campus has been picked as the venue for the upcoming Tuna Commission Conference scheduled for early December 2004. Over 300 participants from all over the world are expected to attend this conference. Mr. Bernard Thoulag, Chief Executive Officer of the National Oceanic Resources Management Authority will be coordinating the arrangements for this conference with the College of Micronesia-FSM.

The Organizing Committee for the 6th Asia-Pacific Symposium on Information and Telecommunication Technologies (APSITTY) is considering the College of Micronesia-FSM as a venue for it upcoming symposium this Fall 2004. Over 150 participants from Asia-Pacific countries are expected to attend the symposium.

A delegation of 4 staff is visiting Guam Community College to look at their assessment/program evaluation model. The College of Micronesia-FSM has both the assessment and program evaluation in its assessment initiatives which is the same set up as Guam Community College.

First day of instruction at the National Campus was on Monday, August 23, 2004. National Campus is offering 212 courses/sections that are taught by 46 full-time/part-time instructors. The occupancy rate for the National Campus' classrooms during Fall Semester 2004 is at 80%.

Personnel:

New Hires/Promotions

Resignations

The President Search Committee will begin the initial review of applications for the position of President of the College on September 2, 2004. All Committee members will be on Pohnpei at that time.

The Personnel Office was just informed that the FSM Health Insurance has increased the premium by $2.00 effective October 1, 2004. The two dollars increase will be applied across the board to all paying members. The following is the new bi-weekly premium rate:

	Old Rate	New Rate	Employee Share	Employer share
Basic	$11.00	$13.00	$6.24	$6.76
Supp. Res	27.50	29.50	14.16	. 15.34
Sup. Non. Res.	38.50	40.50	19.44	21.06

 

The Plan has increased members' benefits such as vision, dental and shared cost of medical emergency. More details on these benefits will be forthcoming.

The Life Insurance Open enrollment will take place during the month of September. The open enrollment session with IAC for the National Campus employees is scheduled on September 7th from 9:00 to 12:00 noon at MITC. Pohnpei Campus employees are scheduled to meet with IAC on Monday September 6th between 11:30 and 1:30 p.m. Visits to Kosrae, Chuuk, and Yap will be scheduled later that month. Director of Personnel will keep you posted as soon as information is received regarding the visits.

Thank you.