North Idaho College receives show cause letter
North Idaho College received an action letter of “show cause” late Thursday from its accrediting organization, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
NIC has until March 13 to submit a report explaining why its accreditation should not be withdrawn.
The letter states that the NWCCU Executive Committee is “convinced that the NIC Board of Trustees has not shown sufficient responsiveness to previous commission action and, thus, fails to sufficiently appreciate the jeopardy it is placing the institution in with respect to the welfare and viability of the institution.”
This is followed by a lengthy list of eligibility requirements and standards for accreditation that NIC must address.
“NWCCU may require an accredited or candidate institution to show cause and note its accreditation is in jeopardy, when it does not appear to be in compliance with Standards for Accreditation, Eligibility Requirements, Policies, or applicable federal regulations, and there is evidence the non-compliance is sufficiently egregious such that it raises concerns the institution: has not made sufficient progress toward achieving compliance; does not appear to demonstrate capacity to comply with Standards for Accreditation, Eligibility Requirements, Policies, or applicable federal regulations under a timeframe set by the Commission pursuant to 34 CFR § 602.20(a)(2); is in imminent danger of closing; has demonstrated a lack of integrity, truthfulness, or responsibility, and the Commission determines students may be harmed; or information from monitoring activities suggests serious concerns related to student achievement, viability and capacity, or financial health.
A show cause action requires the institution to present evidence why its accreditation should not be withdrawn. A show cause action will identify Standards for Accreditation, Eligibility Requirements, Policies, or federal regulations that must be addressed in a show cause report,
the due date, and require a show cause visit. For accreditation to be reaffirmed, the show cause report must provide evidence the institution made all necessary improvements and meets the Standards for Accreditation, Policies, and applicable federal regulations. An on-site show cause visit will follow submission of the show cause report to verify the information submitted.
The show cause action will require a teach-out plan and, if applicable, teach-out agreement(s).
The institution may be required to appear before the Commission to consider the status of its accreditation.”
The show cause requires a teach-out plan and must provide evidence that NIC has made all necessary improvements.
A peer review team will visit NIC April 17 and 18 to verify the information in NIC’s show cause report and teach-out plan.