Editorial: NIC report further exposes board failures

Three times North Idaho College’s accrediting agency has issued detailed reports, exposing existential problems that have placed the college’s accreditation — its very lifeblood — in jeopardy.

These special reports were released in spring 2022, spring 2023 and again Sept. 15. Common themes have emerged: high marks for NIC administration, staff, faculty and students; failing grades for the three college trustees in control of the five-person board. 

The mounting failures led the accreditors — the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities — to warn the board that it must show clear improvement in carrying out its leadership responsibilities or face loss of accreditation college-wide.

Anyone who has closely followed board meetings would be unable to see where Greg McKenzie, Todd Banducci and Mike Waggoner have made progress with NWCCU’s recommendations. And so it was no surprise that after a team of college peers thoroughly researched NIC issues, came to campus a month ago and conducted on-site interviews and more research — largely focused on progress with the nine recommendations NWCCU aggregated in its Sept. 15 report — the same themes repeated.

Here’s what the peer team concluded in its report released the day before Thanksgiving:

“... the evaluation team was impressed with dedication and resilience of NIC’s administration, faculty, staff, and students. They are clearly committed to the success of NIC and are working diligently to address the issues outlined in the Show Cause notification. The team found it noteworthy that regarding the recommendations that were within the purview and control of NIC administration, the President and his team created an action plan, worked the plan, and produced positive outcomes.”

That praise did not extend to the board majority.

“On the other hand,” the report concludes, “the evaluation team was concerned that the recommendations that require Board response and action had shown little to no progress.”

The peer report is 19 pages long, but it’s written in clear, detailed language. Anyone who cares deeply about the future of North Idaho College should take time to read the report: https://shorturl.at/mrQRX

There are two other things supporters should do.

Keep pressure on Banducci, McKenzie and Waggoner to do what’s best for the college and not for their personal or political prospects. At this juncture, it’s unlikely any of the three will reverse their destructive course, but doing so should never be easy.

If NWCCU holds back the guillotine blade’s descent until after next autumn’s NIC trustee election — that appears to be the accreditor’s strategy after all this turmoil — supporters can rejoice in three words accompanying McKenzie’s, Waggoner’s and Banducci’s bios on the NIC website: Term ends: 2024

Three wrongs can then be made right.