NMC regents send organizational chart policy back to committee

The Northern Marianas College Board of Regents voted during its March 6 meeting to return a proposed policy governing the college’s organizational chart to committee for further revision, after discussion about preserving the board’s authority over institutional structure.

Board members said the proposal was intended to formally document a practice that has historically existed at the college but was never clearly written into policy.

Board chair Jesse M. Tudela noted that while the board has traditionally approved the organizational chart, there has been no standalone policy documenting that authority.

“I believe NMC never had an organizational chart policy,” he said. “And that's why it was brought to the forefront.”

Tudela said his understanding was that the board has historically held that authority even without a written policy.

“I believe it's always been practice that the board of regents is the only authority to approve the organizational chart,” he said.

Tudela added that the board should adopt a clear written policy.

“We have to have something in writing, our board policy,” Tudela said. “And if it's the sole authority, it's the board that we need to do that.”

He recommended that the proposal be sent back to the Human Resources Committee so the language could be revised based on the board’s discussion.

“I'm just going to throw it out. It's not a motion, but my recommendation is that this policy needs to go back to the committee and, based on deliberation discussion here, to perform what I guess the entire board is requesting,” he said.

Regent Janice A. Tenorio also voiced support for maintaining board oversight of the organizational structure.

“Regarding the organizational chart… I believe that remaining with the approval of the board of regents on the organizational chart is just… a check and balance in regards to the college,” she said.

Tenorio said organizational restructuring can significantly affect employees.

“Any organizational chart or reorganization can make or break an individual,” Tenorio said.

“We always have to remember that an office that you reorganize has a person in it.”

Public comment on the issue was provided by longtime NMC employee Lisa Hacskaylo, who urged the board to maintain its oversight role.

“Presidents come and go, and moving the authority to change tuition and fees and the structure of the organization from the board to the president leaves us vulnerable to future presidents,” she said.

“Policy needs to protect the institution from changes based on the vision or good ideas of a single person and support the checks and balances between the office of the president and the board.”

During the discussion, college officials said the proposed policy was partly intended to reflect evolving practices in higher education where some institutions allow presidents greater flexibility to reorganize administrative structures.

After further discussion, a motion was made to return the draft policy to the Human Resources Committee for revision with language clarifying the board’s authority.

“We would like the motion… to bring back the board policy 2004 on organizational chart to the committee… for further revision and to ensure… that the board of regents is the final,” Tudela said.

The board then voted unanimously to send the policy back to the committee.

The Board of Regents is expected to revisit the proposed organizational chart policy once the committee completes its revisions.

During the meeting, NMC vice president for Administration and Advancement Frankie Eliptico also provided updates on major construction projects planned under NMC’s facilities master plan.

He said the scale of the projects will dramatically increase activity on campus.

“In short order, this will be the busiest construction site throughout almost all of Micronesia,” Eliptico said.

The projects include new classroom buildings funded through federal disaster recovery programs.

However, he said delays in federal approvals could temporarily reduce the size of some planned facilities.

“So without the second story… we will be going from 32 classrooms to 12 classrooms and four labs,” Eliptico told the board.

He noted the college currently relies on more classroom space than that.

“We use currently more than 12 classrooms for our buildings,” he said.

Eliptico said they remain hopeful that federal funding will allow the projects to proceed as originally designed.