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M E M O R A N D U M January 18 , 2008 To: All Concerned From: President, COM-FSM Subject: President's Update #303 and 304 Accreditation This spring 2008 marks two years before the College of Micronesia-FSM's and the Palau Community College's scheduled comprehensive visits by the Accrediting Commission. It is the practice of the Accrediting Commission for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) to offer Self Study Training Workshop for colleges about to undertake the task of institutional self study leading to the Self Study Report. Dr. Jack Pond, a key staff at the Commission, has asked the University of Hawaii to host the workshop for the COM-FSM and the Palau Community College during the week of March 17, 2008 in Hawaii. The workshop is a one day presentation; however, Dr. Pond is proposing that other topics like program review, accreditation basics, etc. be offered based on the needs of the two institutions. Board of Regents The Board of Regents for the College of Micronesia-FSM recently met during the week of December 18-20, 2007, at the College of Micronesia-FSM National Campus. The Board of Regents deliberated on important matters like FY 2009 budgets and adopted the following actions and directives:
Andrew Yatilman Chairman Graceful Enlet Vice Chairman Isamo Welles Secretary/Treasurer
The FSM President's Initiative on Converting the COM-FSM into a 4 year College The FSM President and the College of Micronesia-FSM key staff had a series of meeting on His Excellency's initiative of converting the COM-FSM into a four year college during the months of October 2007. The President of the FSM tasked the College to submit a feasibility study plan on his initiative to his office in December 2007. The College of Micronesia-FSM conducted research and analysis on three options that may be considered and used for further action. These three options include: community college -two year college with not more than one four year program, community college-two year college with more than one four year program, but with an extensive network of degree offerings with other Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), and full four year college or university. The analysis done by the college of the three options also included the financial implications and academic, student services, administrative support, learning resources center, research, and facilities need. The pros and cons of each option were also included in the feasibility study. The College submitted the feasibility study to President Mori's Office on December 3, 2007. President Mori met with key staff from the College on January 10, 2008 on the feasibility study plan. The College recommended to His Excellency Mori option two and he concurred with the recommendation. His Excellency Mori is scheduling a follow up meeting on his initiative sometimes in March. The summary of option two is that the COM-FSM maintains its current status as a community college with not more than one 4-year program, but with extensive network of degree offerings with other Institutions of Higher Education (IHE). FY 2009 Budget Per Board of Regents directives the budget guidelines from the FSM President's Office, the College of Micronesia-FSM has submitted its FY 2009 operations budget to the FSM National Government on January 15, 2008. The College of Micronesia-FSM FY 2009 budget submission included the following:
Updates from the Institutional Research and Planning Office Surveys: An “open activity period” survey was conduced at the end of Fall 2007 for all employees and students. The purpose was to find out how the students, faculty and staff utilized open activity period. The employee survey was administered online. Students received hard copies.
Analysis of the “open activity period” will be completed by next update. Reporting: The first quarter 2008 performance reporting is due on January 14, 2008 at IPRO. The reporting template has been revised to include specific slots for reporting against institutional priorities 2008 and the President's Retreat problem. Assessment: Guidelines and worksheets for Administrative and Support Services assessment have been sent out. All administrative and student support offices are to complete development of their mission and objectives and an evaluation plan by January 31, 2008 with the evaluation report due at the end of 2008. IPEDS: IPEDS Winter 2007-08 Data Collection is currently open for data entry. Surveys in this winter collection are:
Data included in the main survey for this data collection, the Human Resources Survey, are number of employees by assigned positions, average salaries for all full-time primary instructional staff, number of full-time primary instructional staff ranking, and the number and average amount of expenditures for employees and their dependents covered under selected fringe benefits for the institution. IPRO is currently working on completing the Human Resources survey with the help of the HR and Business Office staff. We are hoping to collect the requested data/information from the Business Office a week ahead of the deadline so we could have time for cleaning and entering into the IPEDS online system. The deadline for this data collection is scheduled for January 23, 2008. Spring Semester 2008 The Spring Semester 2008 Registration at the National Campus got underway on January 8, 2008 and continued on January 9, 2008. Classes commenced on January 10, 2008. As of January 17, 2008, 793 students have officially registered for Spring Semester 2008 at the National Campus. As of the date of this report only Pohnpei Campus has reported to my office the Spring Semester 2008 enrollment. The enrollment at Pohnpei Campus for Spring Semester 2008 is at 476 students. Enrollments from other campuses for Spring Semester 2008 will be reported in the next update. Site for Joint Inauguration for Pohnpei State Governor, Lt. Governor, and Members of the 7 th Pohnpei State Legislature The FSM/China Friendship Multi-Purpose Sport Center was the site for the joint inauguration for Pohnpei State Governor, Lt. Governor, and members of the 7 th Pohnpei State Legislature. Over 200 dignitaries, governors, FSM Congressmen, diplomatic corps, and citizens of Pohnpei and the FSM attended the event. Campus Directors Meeting The Campus Director's Meeting took place at the National Campus on December 17, 2007. The participants of the meeting included Campus Directors, Directors of Offices, Programs, Centers, and other key staff at the National Campus. The agenda items for the Campus Director's meeting included the following:
The discussions of the above items led to the development of the recommendations for most of the items that will be routed to appropriate standing committees and to the Board of Regents for final approval. For example, the current policy on distribution formula for indirect cost is: 25% for Business office, 50% for campus or department that is coordinating the project, and 25 % for President's Office. The Campus Director's Meeting recommended that 50% of indirect cost currently given to the state campuses must be increased to 60-70%. President and comptroller will meet with the Campus Director and recommend for a workable distribution formula that will incorporate the recommendation of the Campus Director's meeting into the new formula. The new distribution formula will be sent to the Board of Regents at its March 2008 meeting for review and approval. Student Learning Outcome Workshop A delegation consisting of Mr. Joseph Saimon, Accreditation Liaison Officer, Mr. Jimmy Hicks, Director of Institutional Research and Planning Office, Mrs. Karen Simion, Director of Academic Programs, and Mr. Faustino Yarofaisug, Financial Aid Counselor will be representing the College of Micronesia-FSM at a Western Association of Schools and Colleges Seminar on assessment of Student Learning Outcome in Irvine, California during the week of January 31-February 3, 2008. Retirement Plan More College of Micronesia-FSM employees have enrolled in the College of Micronesia-FSM Retirement Plan due to the recent approval of the retirement loan policy by the Board of Regents during its teleconference in November 2008. A good number of employees that are enrolled in the retirement plan have increased their contributions to their plans due to the implementation of the retirement loan policy. Contact Rencelly Nelson at telephone number:320-2480 if you are a full-time employee of the college and want to enroll or learn more about the Retirement Plan. Thank you. |