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College of Micronesia-FSM Federated States of Micronesia |
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M E M O R A N D U M MEMORANDUM To: All Concerned From: President, COM-FSM Subject:
President’s Update
#267
Accreditation: The Accreditation Working Group that has been tasked with the responsibility of updating the activities and plans with relevance to accreditation recommendations continues to meet to complete its task. The writing of the Progress Report that will be submitted to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in March 15, 2006, commences as soon as the matrix has been updated and an outline for the Progress Report is done. The Accreditation Liaison Officer is coordinating the work on updating the matrix and the outline for the writing of the Progress Report. Fiscal Year 2007 Budget: The Administration has submitted the operational budgets for five (5) campuses, FSM-FMI, Board of Regents, the Infrastructure Development Projects, Student Assistant Grant, and Work Study and FSEOG Programs to President Urusemal on January 6, 2006, for his review, action, and submission to the FSM Congress for approval. The deadline for submitting the FY 2007 budgets to the FSM President’s Office is on January 15, 2006. The total budget and breakdown from the College for FY 2007 are given below:
Second Quarter Performance Report: The Second Quarter Performance Report for the College will be submitted to the FSM President’s Office on January 20, 2006. The report will include the Compact II Education Sector and Supplemental Education Grant (SEG) funds. The College recently added to its Performance Outcomes for the Education Sector the Performance Outcomes for the Supplemental Education Grant. Sponsored Programs: The Sponsored Program Coordinator, Ms. Dayle Dannis and Mrs. Jessica Stam collaborated with the staff at the Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap Campuses on writing three (3) separate Talent Search Grant Proposals and submitted them online before the deadline on January 6, 2006. The administration of the College would like to thank Mr. Kalwin Kephas, Mr. Morgan Jonas and Upward Bound Staff at Kosrae Campus, Mrs. Penny Weilbacher, Mr. Heinrich Palik and Talent Search Staff, and Dale Griffith from Pohnpei Campus, Ms. Lourdes Roboman, Ms. Theressa and Upward Bound Staff at Yap Campus, Ms. Dayle Dannis, Sponsored Program Coordinator, and others at the COM-FSM and Mrs. Jessica Stam for their efforts and hard work on writing these proposals and submitting them on time. The hard work and efforts of these staff established the local capacities at the College on grant writing. The College will not be hiring consultants and spending thousands of dollars to write similar grants in the future. Kudos again to all that were involved in writing and submitting these grant proposals on time. Dedication of New Buildings at Chuuk Campus: The Director of Chuuk Campus, Mr. Joakim Peter and the staff are organizing a dedication ceremony for the two newly completed Computer Lab and the Learning Resources Center buildings. Other new additions to Chuuk Campus included the new restrooms and generator house. The newly installed backup generator is providing more than needed electricity for the campus. The College has invested over $350,000 on the new buildings and additions. The renovations/upgrades of current facilities at the current site will commence mid-January 2006 to late July 2006. The renovated/upgraded facilities will be ready to be used for Fall Semester 2006. Governor Simina Established an Advisory Committee for Chuuk High School Site: An Advisory Committee has been established by Governor Simina to work collaboratively with the College of Micronesia-FSM to make sure that the site is transferred to the College legally and on time (end of 2008) for the College to move in and do renovations/upgrading of facilities. The College will be happy to work with the established advisory committee on the turnover of the site to the College. Meeting with FSM Ambassador to United States: The Vice President for Support and Student Affairs, Mr. Ringlen Ringlen, Director of Financial Aid Office, and I attended a meeting with the FSM Ambassador to the United States and two of his key staff. The focus of the meeting was on the issues of the Supplemental Education Grant, Work Study and FSEOG Programs, FSM Students at the College of Micronesia-FSM, Palau Community College and higher institutions learning abroad. Currently the FSM Students attending Palau Community College and higher institutions of learning in USA and its territories that started their enrollment after June 2004 are not eligible for Work Study and FSEOG Programs. The FSM Students attending Palau Community College will also lose their Pell Grant eligibility after June 2006.
The College will not be able to access its $270,000 SEG funds it will be using to support students under the SEG, Work Study, and FSEOG programs during FY 2006. The Information received from the FSM Ambassador indicated that US Congress just appropriated the FY 2006 SEG funds for the FSM. It will take time to access the funds as the plan of work for the FY 2006 SEG Funds from the FSM has not been developed. It will also take time to have the US Government to release the SEG funds to the FSM Government. The College representatives have also discussed these matters with the FSM President and some members of his cabinet on December 28, 2005. Due to the complications of the issues relating to SEG Work Study and FSEOG funding, the FSM President urged the representatives from the College at the December 28, 2005, meeting to submit a supplemental request on these programs to his office. The request can be included in his supplemental request to the FSM Congress. The President of the College submitted a figure of $304,000 for its supplemental request to FSM President’s Office in the afternoon of December 28, 2005. Good news for the FSM Students attending Palau Community College is that the FSM Embassy in Washington D.C. is working with the US Congress on a resolution to reinstate the FSM students their eligibility on Pell Grant, Work Study, and FSEOG Programs. The recent high school graduates (May and June 2004 graduates) that decided to attend institutions of higher learning outside of the FSM and Palau Community College are still not eligible for the Work Study and FSEOG Programs. System Wide Network to be Upgraded: The College of Micronesia-FSM Network is undergoing major upgrade during the month of January 2006. The upgrade will enhance the capability of the Network to include videoconferencing and teleconferencing. The upgrade will require expanding the bandwidth of the system. The upgrade of the Network is being done by Mr. Ken Girrard, consultant on Network and Technology that has been retained by the College during the past 3 years.
The Assessment Committee Organized: The Assessment Committee met on Monday, 1/9/06, at 3 p.m. in the Board Conference Room and organized itself. The Committee will be co-chaired by 4 members: The co-chairs are Mrs. Karen Simion, Director of Academic Programs, Mr. Dana Lee Ling, Director of Research and Planning, and a Support and Student Affairs Department representative. The committee members listened to a presentation given by Mr. Dana Lee Ling, Chair, Math/Science Division, on Assessment Plan for the courses, programs, and institutional student learning outcomes. This same plan will be presented at the upcoming System Wide Workshop on Program/Services Assessment and Evaluation during the week of January 30, 2006 to February 1, 2006. Words of Appreciation, Gratitude, and Thanks: The Administration of the College would like to express its appreciation, gratitude, and thanks to the Chuuk State Scholarship Board for its generosity on awarding scholarships to 135 students from Chuuk State that are currently attending the National Campus in Palikir, Pohnpei. The generosity of the Board has enabled the Chuuk State students at the College to continue their education without interruptions. Kudos goes to the Chairman of the Chuuk State Scholarship Board and the members of the Board. Sasakawa Peace Foundation/UOG 2005-2006 Workshop Series: Mr. Bruce Best from the University of Guam Outreach Division conducted a workshop on Sasakawa Peace Foundation and Sasakawa Pacific Island Nations Fund Overview, Distance Education Program Evaluation, Pacific Distance Learning Alliance overview, Pacific Islands Distance Education Networks, Telecommunication overview, and Regional and International Health and Disaster Management Communication Networks during the week of January 2-3, 2006, at the College of Micronesia-FSM MITC facilities to about 15 participants from various agencies, departments, and the College. Update from Pohnpei Campus: The Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant Projects proposed for Fall Semester 2005 were finally approved by the Secretary of HESA at the end of December 2005. During the semester break, the Instructional Coordinator and TQEG Coordinator are prepared to offer training in the modules at the beginning of Spring Semester 2006. The School to Work Project at Pohnpei Campuses has been revitalized by Gardner Edgar and Maria Dison. The piloting phase of the project began with the preparation of the syllabi and lesson plans for courses to be piloted. The work was a collaborative effort between the Campus vocational instructors and teachers at PICS. Piloting of the courses will begin during the third quarter at the high school. Spring Semester 2006: The Spring Semester 2006 Activities began on January 9, 2006. All instructors are supposed to return to their work stations on that day. The Spring Semester Registration for continuing and new students commences on January 10 and will continue until January 12. The first day of instruction for the Spring Semester 2006 is on Friday, January 13, 2006. System-Wide Enrollment from Fall 1998 to Fall 2005: The College of Micronesia-FSM enrollment from Fall Semester 1998 to Fall Semester 2005 has been increasing at an average annual rate of 8%. Because of the steady increase in enrollment at the College as indicated in the attached table, the College started managing its enrollment by establishing enrollment standards. The management of enrollment is important to ensure the quality of programs and services the College of Micronesia-FSM is providing to its community and clients.
Thank you.
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