COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Three new trustees of the North Idaho College Board were officially sworn in Wednesday night and jumped right into getting the school back on track with accreditation.
Right now, North Idaho College is on the verge of losing that accreditation, which could mean trouble for its students.
The college has until April to satisfy all of the requirements laid out by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) to keep its accreditation, starting with the school’s budget. The college needs to balance the budget to make sure finances are sustainable moving forward.
Student-athletes who attended the meeting were concerned about what this would mean for the school’s athletic department.
“We really would like some clarification whether it be dates, numbers or things like that. We’re very interested to know where things are moving forward because there’s a lot of human impact that this might have on a lot of people,” said North Idaho College golfer Charlie Ward.
Alumni and athletes are hoping the board will find a way to keep its athletic department going amid the budget shuffle.
“From an athletic standpoint, you hear some debate in the public about ‘Well, we don’t even need athletics. School is made for education only.’ And I beg to differ, personally,” said Pat Clevenger who is on the NIC Foundation Board of Directors.
The board of trustees said it wants to honor the college’s commitments to all of its current student-athletes while also figuring out ways to limit costs for the college.
“I think it is fair to say that every one of us believes that an athletic program enhances the experience students have at North Idaho College,” trustee Eve Knudtsen said.
The even larger issue at hand for the college though is maintaining its accreditation, which could cost the school students and money if lost.
North Idaho College was given a show cause sanction by the NWCCU in 2023 because of governance and integrity issues with the Board of Trustees.
“We are here to serve the students, the faculty and the community with the utmost respect and dignity to move forward and put this behind us,” Rick Durbin from the Board of Trustees said.
The NWCCU will make a decision on the college’s accreditation status in January.
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