Message from Mike Waggoner, Board of Trustees Chair for North Idaho College
I’m going to fill you in on the current situation at NIC. I’m doing this as a concerned citizen and not representing the Board of Trustees.
Right now, NIC is doing very well. It has turned the corner in a number of areas and the future looks bright.
However, this is recent. I’m sure you have all heard about the problems with accreditation and enrollment. So, let’s talk about these topics.
First, a little background. I am sharing these insights based on my experience in Fortune 100 company management, where for many years I was responsible for overhauling groups that were in need of change. For example, another man and I redesigned a company of 24,500 employees and its annual report stated the changes helped them survive. This is the big picture approach I am using to explain the current situation.
From my perspective, our beloved North Idaho College, being over 90 years old, needed big changes. This situation is typical for organizations this old. Most organizations don’t even last this long, and major changes are always messy and unpopular since people generally do not like change.
Three years ago, there was turmoil on the NIC Board of Trustees:
- A conservative majority of new trustees had been elected, including Greg McKenzie and Michael Barnes.
- For about 12 years, NIC had suffered enrollment declines, an average of 3-6% per year.
- The enrollment decline continued under the college’s management at that time, so the conservative majority made changes.
Two years ago, a conservative majority was again elected by the voters, and Board Chairs were selected from the conservative majority. The results show good progress.
Accreditation:
Accreditation concerns are being diligently resolved and the situation is continually improving. There were about 20 issues for the Board and the Administration to address, and they are all being addressed.
Please see the image below which shows accreditation review data for governance. Green means progress. Note the various status dates and how most measurements are now close to three, which is average. Note how they have been improving over time. These are issues that the accreditation organization has identified, and we have worked hard and done all we can at this point to address them.
Also, the Board and the college are updating many of its processes, some of which were 20 years old. Currently, we are waiting for the accreditation organization to re-evaluate us on October 14-15.
Enrollment:
Enrollment is up from last year by about 15%, a stark contrast to the declines during the previous 12 years.
Enrollment in 2020 was 4,801, in 2023 it was 3,981. Now it is back up to 4,537.
- Dual Enrollment for high school students at NIC is up.
- Enrollment is up in Career and Technical Education (CTE) at Parker Center in Rathdrum.
- Other student enrollment categories are up as well.
Finances:
NIC’s finances are in good shape, and the NIC Foundation has increased its endowment to $45 million.
Summary:
- The conservative majority changed the original management of the college.
- The whole Board, the new President, the Staff, and the Faculty have worked very hard to turn NIC around.
- It all started with the Board replacing the management. This was strongly resisted. But it has worked. We need to thank those members who made the original changes. They are Todd Banducci, Greg McKenzie, and Michael Barnes.
In short, the ship has been turned and is continuing to improve. I believe it will keep improving and the college will provide more and more benefit to the community as an educational organization and as an umbrella for a series of grants for social services such as Head Start, GED, elder career, and so on.
Thanks to everyone working hard, the future looks bright at NIC.
