NIC prepares to go before accreditors

COEUR d’ALENE — North Idaho College leaders will travel to Seattle next week for a meeting that will determine whether NIC remains accredited.

Since early 2023, NIC has operated under a show cause sanction, the last step before loss of accreditation. Federal regulations stipulate that the college has until April 1 of this year to resolve the remaining issues identified by the accrediting body, most of which involve college governance and trustee behavior.

Tuesday’s meeting before the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities will mark NIC’s last chance to return to good standing before the deadline.

“We are well prepared, I think, for that,” NIC President Nick Swayne said Wednesday night, during the trustees’ monthly meeting.

Swayne said NIC’s representatives are working with the college’s accreditation liaison to prepare for the meeting.

With the spring semester underway, Swayne shared with trustees an update about enrollment.

Swayne said enrollment is up 12% over last year, which translates to 181 more students on campus now than at this time in 2024. Those numbers aren’t final, as students are still registering for classes and will also have the opportunity to enroll in eight and 12-week courses.

The figure doesn’t include dual-enrolled students from area high schools. Swayne said the college expects between 700 and 1,000 dual-enrolled students for the spring semester.

This is the second spring semester where NIC has seen increased enrollment.

In January 2024, the number of first-time, degree-seeking students had increased about 19% over the prior spring and declining enrollment for continuing transfer students had slowed to just 1%, bucking a decade-long trend of continuing transfer students decreasing between 3% and 6% each year.

Swayne said he’s optimistic about the final numbers this semester.

“We’re really looking forward to strong enrollment numbers this spring,” he said.