MY TURN: No athletics at NIC without accreditation

It is now very clear how decisions by the elected board of trustees for NIC have brought into doubt the continued accreditation of NIC by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Accreditation is critical for any institution of higher education, and it must be assessed and renewed for every institution on a regular basis regardless of size and public or private status. The NWCCU is tasked by the Department of Education to provide an independent assessment of “…performance, integrity, and quality …” of educational programs in the Northwestern U.S. Loss of accreditation is an acknowledgment that an institution has lost the confidence the public can have in its programs. And its loss thus seriously affects the marketability of degrees from that institution.

The job of the NWCCU is therefore similar to that of the Air Force Office of Inspector General, in which Mr. Banducci serves our country as a reservist. This office must “… independently assess the readiness, discipline and efficiency …” of Air Force units to perform their missions. The key word for both the AF Inspector General and NWCCU is “independently.” No one would expect any Air Force unit to provide a complete and final assessment of its own readiness. Likewise, no one expects any educational institution to be able to provide a complete and final assessment of its degrees relative to any professional standards. Accreditation from the NWCCU is critical for NIC to serve the community.

In relation to the accreditation issue, I was struck by the discussion at the Dec. 21 board of trustees meeting that touched on starting a women’s wrestling program. I call on NIC trustees to search for “accreditation” at the websites of the NCAA and NJCAA. For both associations, active membership requires that institutions be “… accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency …” — i.e. the NWCCU in the case of NIC. Loss of accreditation would mean that NIC could not provide the level of competition of NCAA or NJCAA sponsored athletic events. Current team sports at NIC would become intramural club sports.

NCAA and NJCAA (2-year institutions) sponsored sports are important parts of educational institutions. Teams provide an important source of school pride and identity. But there is an even more important benefit to team sports. I have taught in higher education for over 40 years. Time and again I have had athletes from many different NCAA supported sports in my classes. I have seen that many of them bring to academic studies the same discipline, drive and sense of achievement that they have brought to the sport that in many cases brought them to the university in the first place. How would it then be possible to attract athletes from any sport — men’s or women’s wrestling, for example — when NIC would not be able to provide the kind of competition that those athletes seek and need in order to prove themselves in their sport? Loss of the ability to recruit and retain students like this would reflect poorly on any institution.

I urge all of the trustees to think carefully and responsibly about the broader consequences of their decisions going forward. NIC and the community here that it serves depend on it. It has taken many decades to build NIC as a highly respected educational institution. Above all else, accreditation is the key issue. If NIC goes under, or becomes an unaccredited fly-by-night institution, the entire community will lose valuable educational — and athletic — assets for local high school and postsecondary students. And for what? Someone’s ego? More condos?

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Brian H. Smith is a Coeur d'Alene resident.