The future of higher education in Idaho's panhandle is still uncertain as the fate of the region's only two-year college, North Idaho College, remains in limbo. As an Oct. 14-15 visit from the college's accrediting body looms, the school's leaders hope they have made enough progress to retain accreditation.
In April 2022, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, or NWCCU, first issued a warning to the college following multiple complaints about the school's governance via its Board of Trustees and "no confidence" votes from staff, faculty and student groups over the previous year. Less than a year later, in February 2023, the accrediting body placed North Idaho College under a sanction of "show cause," which is essentially the last step before revoking the college's accreditation.
Accreditation in higher education ensures that a college or university is providing quality education based upon a set of educational standards put in place by an accrediting body, such as the NWCCU.
Since then, the college has made significant progress on its journey toward compliance with NWCCU regulations. The school's administration was asked to ensure that empty dean and provost positions were filled and to find ways to address the school's declining enrollment. Meanwhile, the board was asked to correct all of the issues that led to 13 votes of "no confidence" from staff, students and administration, as well as to mend the board's relationship with the college president to allow for consensus in decision-making.
After the accrediting body visited the college's Coeur d'Alene campus last fall, it released a report stating that its recommendations that fall under the college administration's purview were adequately addressed, while the recommendations to the Board of Trustees were not.
"The President and his team created an action plan, worked the plan and produced positive outcomes," the fall 2023 report stated. "On the other hand, the evaluation team was concerned that the recommendations that require Board response and action had shown little to no progress."
A few months later, the NWCCU canceled its spring 2024 visit, opting for a single visit that will take place in October before the commission makes its decision on North Idaho College's future.
"By rescheduling, we give the institution and its Board of Trustees, in particular, sufficient time to make progress on these recommendations, instead of having to continually submit reports and wait for responses," NWCCU wrote in its March document called "A Plan for North Idaho College."
NWCCU President Sonny Ramaswamy says a decision following the October visit should be released in January.
The remaining recommendations laid out in the commission's plan for the school mainly focused on the trustees' governance of the college. Those recommendations included, "Functioning as a professional governing board, strengthening Board of Trustees' relationship with the president, building inclusivity into board processes, and reducing risks to the institution."
In an Aug. 30 report to the accrediting commission, North Idaho College said it has made progress toward addressing board governance issues, but still needs time to provide further evidence of changes. The 37-page report also states that the college has made "tremendous progress even during uncertain accreditation times," such as an expansion of career and technical education programs at the college and an increase in enrollment for the first time in more than a decade.
"While NWCCU may not recognize this progress to return NIC to good standing, the compelling evidence in this report serves as documentation that the college has earned the minimum of a reduced sanction," the Aug. 30 report from the school states.
If the commission believes that the college has made enough progress for reduced sanctions, it could change the school's status from "show cause" to either a warning or probation. Additionally, the commission can offer a one-year extension to address issues, but that is only done under "exceptional circumstances," according to NWCCU policy.
In the meantime, the college is gearing up for the Nov. 5 election, which will determine who will win three of its trustee seats.
Importantly, however, even though most of the commission's remaining recommendations to North Idaho College are related to its Board of Trustees, Ramaswamy says the election will not have any bearing on the accreditation decision. However, two new trustees are guaranteed, as two incumbents, Chair Mike Waggoner and Vice Chair Todd Banducci, are not seeking reelection.
"The upcoming elections have no relevance to nor impact on NWCCU's site visit in October and the decision to be made by the Board of Commissioners in January 2025 regarding NIC's accreditation," Ramaswamy says via email. "This is because the peer evaluation team will be focused on whether the institution has addressed the recommendations that contributed to the Sanction."
BOARD ELECTION
Although the election will not affect the college's accreditation woes, the candidates who hope to be elected to the Board of Trustees say the position the college is in inspired them to run.Kootenai County voters will see all three nonpartisan board races on their Nov. 5 ballots, regardless of the trustee zone that they live in. However, the candidates must live within the boundaries of the zone they're running to represent on the board.
"My concern for NIC's accreditation is my primary reason for running," candidate Rick Durbin says. "I believe that the board has a lack of leadership and unity, and this is my opportunity to help unify the board."
Durbin, a financial planner and NIC graduate, will face retired California transplant William Lyons in the race for zone 3, where both hope to fill the seat that Banducci has held for 12 years.
When reached by phone, Lyons requested that the Inlander reach out to him via email instead. After two emails, he declined to share a photo or any information about himself or his campaign. The Coeur d'Alene Press reports he formerly worked in the sale and installation of petrochemical refinery control systems.
During his tenure, Banducci has been known for strongly voicing his opinions, often in ways that are dismissive or rude to his fellow trustees or people who speak during public comment. When asked about his impact on the college, Durbin says Banducci let his own opinions get in the way of his duties as a trustee.
"I've known Todd for many years, and I think his passion may have distracted him from the objective of the board and got in the way of his servitude," Durbin says. "There is a potential for a political bias to get in the way when it comes to serving the college, but I want voters to know that I will not be distracted by any politics or outside influences."
The race for Board Chair Waggoner's zone 5 seat is between Michael Angiletta and Mary Havercroft.
Angiletta began working as a business coach at the Idaho Small Business Development Center in September 2022 and is co-founder of Secure Idaho Elections, a political action committee fighting against Proposition 1, which aims to introduce ranked-choice voting in Idaho (read more on page 12), according to his personal Facebook page. Angiletta did not respond to any phone call or email requests for an interview.
Havercroft has worked as an educator in North Idaho for the last three decades, including 12 years as a classroom teacher in the Lakeland Joint School District and 20 years as an administrator for the district. She thinks her extensive experience in education makes her the best candidate for this position.
"I see North Idaho College as a resource to students and the community at large, but right now that's in jeopardy," she says. "Obviously I plan to pull from my educational background, but I don't have an agenda, I just want to be able to see the school continue to thrive."
The zone 5 race initially also included Kootenai County Commissioner Leslie Duncan, who intended to run for another term on the county board simultaneously. But days after the Aug. 30 deadline to register for the race, she withdrew from the NIC election and endorsed Angiletta.
"I had already been working closely with Michael Angiletta on my NIC Trustee campaign. As we worked together, it became obvious to me that Angiletta has exactly the kind of experience needed for the Trustee role," Duncan wrote in a Sept. 4 statement. "I am confident that Angiletta will champion those same values and policies I would have fought for."
Zone 4 is the only trustee race where the incumbent is vying for reelection. Trustee Greg McKenzie, who was elected to his first term in 2020, faces Knudtsen Automotive Group President Eve Knudtsen.
When McKenzie was first elected in 2020, he was hoping to bring "new ideas and a fresh perspective" to the Board of Trustees, according to his Facebook page Greg McKenzie for NIC Trustee. (The page has not been updated since September 2022.) Since then, he's served a term as the board chair, often casting the tie-breaking vote on controversial topics, such as the hiring of legal counsel Colton Boyles last year, who was scored lowest among four options evaluated for the position.
When reached by phone, McKenzie asked us to email him to schedule an interview. After sending three emails and making another call, the Inlander did not hear back from him.
Knudtsen, who also took classes at NIC in the past, says she's running for the position to ensure that the school remains in the North Idaho community, emphasizing the heartbreak she's felt over the college in the past few years.
"NIC has figured very prominently as the place where we can supply businesses with a ready, skilled and educated workforce," she says. "So to have it be in peril, because I truly believe that a loss of accreditation would result in the closure of the college, that would create all kinds of economic chaos and instability."
She notes that the loss of the college could mean 1,300 jobs eliminated and the loss of $60 million to the local economy.
All three candidates who agreed to be interviewed said that ensuring the college has a communicative and effective board is among their top priorities. Other than the looming question of the college's accreditation, they did not indicate any other issues that they'd like to tackle as trustees.
Havercroft says the most important thing to her if she's elected will be to ensure the Board of Trustees is able to work seamlessly with the college's staff in ways that haven't been possible in recent years.
"I would say the biggest issue [after accreditation] is going to be healing and developing trust with staff and administration," she says. ♦