NMC Weekly Update - June 16th

NEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE




Hafa Adai, Tirowami and Greetings Everyone!

Here are the highlighted articles of the week:


PRESIDENT'S REPORT TO THE BOR AT THE JUNE 15TH MEETING

I. High School Visitation Promotion
a. During our April College Month celebration, ASNMC, in conjunction with Counseling Programs and the Office of Student Activities and Leadership, invited high school students from public and private schools to visit our campus. This visitation provided a good exposure about what NMC has to offer, orientation to our educational programs and services, and overall college campus life.

b. The Academic Programs and Services collaborated with the Admissions Office and Financial Aid Office to promote NMC at the local high schools on Saipan. Our NMC Tinian and NMC Rota also conducted their respective promotional visits.

II. Annual NMC-CREES Open House
a. As part of our College Month celebration, our Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Services (CREES) Program held an Open House on April 5th and was well-attended by local farmers, ranchers, and the general public. The annual event promotes greater public awareness on NMC’s role as a Land Grant institution and provides our CREES staff the opportunity to interact with local community members through their various program displays, exhibits and food demonstrations. The promotional event also garnered free publicity for our various programs and were featured in our local media.

III. Facilitation of Internal Meeting Forums
To ensure effective communication and understanding among internal NMC stakeholders on important BOR discussions and major institutional plans, our Leadership Team facilitated a series of internal meeting forums focused on the following agenda items:

1. New NMC Organizational Structure
2. New Tuition and Fees
3. Strategic Plan for 2006-2010 and the accompanying Institutional Assessment Plan
4. Follow-up on the internal efforts to address the Management Review Desk Audit (MRDA) action plan and recommendations
5. Status of our Self-Study Report
6. Plan on dealing with the budget cut for FY 2006

IV. Marianas-Japan Cultural and Educational Exchange Night
Our NMC students, faculty, staff and administrators hosted the “Marianas-Japan Educational Exchange Night” on May 12th. More than 450 Japanese students, teachers and administrators from the Seisa Group and Oshima High School attended the event. The exchange program promotes global education and international understanding between the Marianas and the country of Japan. The event also included the signing of a new “Sister-School Agreement” between the Seisa Group and Northern Marianas College.

V. 4th Annual NMC Foundation Open
As a climax event for the 2006 College Month celebration, our NMC Foundation hosted the 4th Annual Golf Tournament on April 22nd at the Laolao Bay Golf Course. The annual fundraising event was very successful and we exceeded the target number of golf players and the $50k revenue goal. The estimated net proceeds from the 4th Annual NMC Foundation Open was more than $60k.

VI. President’s Trip to Japan
My most recent trip to Japan had a two-fold purpose. The first part was to meet with Dr. Sogen Yamakawa, President of Shogen Junior College (SJC) in Nagoya. We signed a Memorandum of Agreement to promote academic ties and cultural exchange programs between SJC and NMC. The visit was mutually beneficial and the MOA will advance NMC’s efforts to promote educational partnerships and will expand opportunities for NMC and CNMI students to study abroad. SJC is interested to provide two full-scholarships to CNMI residents who want to study the Japanese language and culture.

The second part was to attend Koryo High School’s (KHS) 110th Anniversary Celebration in Hiroshima. We signed a Sister-School Agreement with KHS in February 2005 and they are interested in exploring other inter-institutional programs beyond the CDI English Language courses their students take in the summer. The round-trip airfare to Japan for President Deleon Guerrero was covered by Koryo High School.


VII. Ongoing Accreditation Self Study Activities
Our NMC Self Study Steering Committee (SSSC), comprised of internal stakeholders from across the college, has been guiding the institutional self study process through the activities of four subcommittees:

Standard I: Institutional Mission and Effectiveness
Standard II: Student Learning Programs and Services
Standard III: Resources
Standard IV: Leadership and Governance

The SSSC Chairperson, Dr. Debra Cabrera, has distributed an updated timeline for NMC’s 2006 Self Study. In addition to the above working committees, various internal meeting forums have been facilitated to promote greater dialogue and involvement among all NMC stakeholders. The final Self Study Report is expected to be completed in July 2006 and should be in the hands of the visiting team by August 1st. The comprehensive site visit for NMC is scheduled for October 16-19, 2006 and will be chaired by Dr. Guy Lease, Superintendent/President of Lake Tahoe Community College.


VIII. NMC’s 2006 Graduation Data

BS
Elementary Education 15

AA

Liberal Arts 52

AAS Business Administration
Accounting 3
Business Management 20
Computer Applications 4
Sales & Marketing 1

AAS
Criminal Justice 5
Hospitality Management 2

AS
Nursing 20

Certificate of Achievement
Accounting 1
Audio/Video Production 6
Business Management 1
Construction Trades 2
Electrical Installation & Maintenance 1

Certificate of Completion
Accounting 1
Computer Applications 1
Sales & Marketing 1
Related Services Technician 1

GED
18
Adult School
20

Grand Total:175

IX. Requests and Announcements
a. Letter of Request by Governor Fitial was received on May 24th for NMC to create a task force to study the potential manufacture and use of biodiesel in the CNMI. The task force is being lead by Dean Wyatt and a comprehensive report will include recommendations to consider other viable alternative energy resources.

b. The college administration met with Vicky Villagomez, CNMI CIP Coordinator, to develop NMC’s CIP Plan for possible funding from the federal government in FY 2008. The NMC CIP Plan is being lead by our Chief of Finance and Administrative Officer, Raaj Kurapati, and we expect to submit NMC’s CIP Plan to the Executive Branch by June 30th.

c. NMC will be sponsoring a Boardsmanship Training on July 13-15 and will be facilitated by David Wolf and Robert Henry from California. Our NMC Regents will be joined by Regents from Guam Community College and University of Guam. We are also inviting key NMC administrators to attend this upcoming Boardsmanship Training as part of our professional development opportunity.

DEMONSTRATIONAL AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) COURSES
CDI and UCEDD are pleased to announce the upcoming Demonstrational American Sign Language (ASL) Courses.

This is a two-part training program that is designed for persons with little or no prior knowledge of American Sign Language. The courses are taught by Roy Balantac Jr., ASL Instructor for Kapiolani Community College and President of the Aloha State Association of the Deaf.

Learn How To:
• Communicate with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
• Communicate using a visual-gesture mode
• Use ASL to Communicate date and time concepts, numbers, finger spelling, greetings, expressions, occupations, and other language expressions as needed.

Who Should Attend?
• Anyone interested in Learning how to Communicate using ASL
• Parents/Family members of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
• Service Providers, Public Agencies, Private Agencies, Etc.

When do the Courses Start?
Part I: ASL I
June 19 to July 7
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Mon/Wed/Fri
at Oleai Elementary School

Part 2: ASL II
July 10 to July 28
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Mon/Wed/Fri
at Northern Marianas College

These ASL courses are subsidized by UCEDD and are FREE! Seating is limited to 20 participants per course, so register today! To register, or for more information, contact CDI or UCEDD at 234-5498, extension 1010 or stop by their offices in building P.

Demonstrational American Sign Language (ASL) Courses sponsored by NMC-UCEDD (University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities)

Have a Safe and Wonderful Weekend!