North Idaho College says its board of trustees has made substantial progress in fixing governance issues, as the Coeur d’Alene-based community college tries to preserve its accreditation.
A 37-page report from the college addressed the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities’ (NWCCU) longstanding concerns about the board’s behavior and decisions.
Those concerns, reiterated most recently in a March 1 message to the school, revolve around the board majority’s contentious relationship with NIC President Nick Swayne, the panel’s role in college leadership, and a lack of improvement despite multiple warnings.
Since 2021, the board’s governance issues and its attempts to dismiss or undermine Swayne provoked civil suits, drew condemnation from the community, and produced no fewer than 13 “no confidence” votes from student, faculty and staff groups.
The turmoil led to NWCCU’s 2023 decision to place North Idaho College on show-cause status, the last step before revoking accreditation. Under show-cause, the burden rests on NIC to demonstrate why it should not lose accreditation. A group from NWCCU is set to visit the school’s campus next month to conduct a follow-up evaluation in person.
In its August 30 report to the Northwest Commission, North Idaho College said there were “hopeful signs of authentic change.” The board is working more harmoniously with Swayne, trustees are making efforts to be more civil to each other in public meetings, and outstanding lawsuits have been resolved.
The document said the majority of the five-person board took part in training sessions to adopt best practices and ensure trustees stick to the college’s policies. The sessions, which began last August, have “progressively become more cordial, efficient and demonstrate a clear understanding of the president’s and board chair’s roles and responsibilities,” the report said.
Loss of accreditation is not the only possible outcome of NWCCU’s October visit. NIC officials hope for a reduced sanction, such as probation. That would allow the school to keep its accreditation while NWCCU continues to monitor progress.
The college’s report seeks to persuade accreditors that the school may finally be turning a corner. The document said the board is showing more cordiality to student and faculty groups, the school adopted a new strategic plan, and student enrollment and employee retention are starting to trend in a positive direction.
“While NWCCU may not recognize this progress to return NIC to good standing,” the report said, “the compelling evidence in this report serves as documentation that the college has earned the minimum of a reduced sanction.”
NIC argued moving the community college back from the precipice would be seen as a vote of confidence in the board’s improvement efforts and would recognize the commitment of the school's faculty, staff and students.
“Returning to a more favorable accreditation would provide a stable environment for the college to continue its efforts to fulfill its mission,” the report read.
NWCCU’s campus visit is scheduled for mid-October, just three weeks before an election that will deliver potentially significant change to the board. Two of the three trustees who make up the majority trio – Todd Banducci and Mike Waggoner – decided not to stand for re-election. The third member, Greg McKenzie, is running to keep his seat. Car dealership president Eve Knudtsen is challenging him.
