North Idaho College remains under show cause

COEUR d’ALENE — North Idaho College remains accredited for the time being, though its show cause status has been extended and the college will remain under “heightened monitoring.”

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities shared its decision with NIC Friday morning, two weeks after NIC President Nick Swayne and other college representatives met with the commission in Seattle.

Read the full letter from the NWCCU at cdapress.com.

This equates to no change in status for the college, which received a show cause sanction in February. Show cause is the last step before loss of accreditation.

The commission pointed to three areas where NIC is “substantially in compliance” but must improve and also outlined nine recommendations the college must address.

Recommendations include resolving current “litigation, governance and accreditation issues” that impact the budget, as well as resolving the issues underpinning the numerous “no confidence” resolutions from college employees and the board acting to “unequivocally identify” one president for the college.

Though Swayne has been reinstated as active president, former interim president Greg South remains on paid leave.

Swayne said in a news release Friday that the college is committed to addressing all concerns shared by the NWCCU.

“We are relying on our community for continued support as we make forward progress in the challenging work ahead,” he said.

The NWCCU provided a timeline of next steps for NIC:

• Special report and site visit in fall 2023
• Special report and site visit in spring 2024
• Mid-cycle review in fall 2024
• Typical year 6 review of NWCCU Standard 2 in spring 2026
• Typical year 7 evaluation of institutional effectiveness in spring 2027

NIC has until April 1, 2025 to return to good standing. If the college has not done so by then, the NWCCU will be required to withdraw accreditation.