Presidential Search

When selecting a president or when a vacancy of the president occurs, the Board of Regents shall appoint a Search Committee. The Search Committee’s role shall be to advertise the position, accept, screen and interview applicants, and recommend to the Board of Regents all qualified applicants who meet the criteria;

Search Committee Composition:

The Search Committee shall consist of three members of the Board of Regents, excluding the Chairperson of the Board of Regents, whom shall preside over the Committee but will not be able to vote, one Student member, one faculty member, one staff member who does not serve in an administrative role as an employee of NMC, and one administrator. Four (4) voting members shall constitute a quorum. Each member, except the chairperson, shall have a vote within the Committee.

The meetings of the Search Committee shall be closed and shall only include the committee members and other individuals as the Committee shall determine.

Administrative and Technical Support:

The Administrative Support Committee to the Search Committee is to be provided by the Human Resources Administrator.

Job Vacancy Announcement Period:

The presidential search process should be open and transparent, inclusive, dignified, careful and methodical. While the process is open to public scrutiny, names and applications of applicants will remain confidential until the final list of candidates is officially announced by the Board. A minimum amount of time for accepting applications would be at least one (1) month from the first day of the job vacancy announcement publication.

Procedures:

1. Search Committee will meet to review requirements stated in Board Resolution No. 2020-01, including the search timeline and job description, and work with the Support Committee on the method of evaluation. The Search Committee and the Board of Regents shall be guided in the presidential search by the minimum qualifications for applicants for the presidency as set forth by the Board of Regents and announced in the Job Vacancy Announcement (JVA).
2. Minimum Qualification Requirements for the President Job Vacancy Announcement shall be:
   • A Masters degree from a U.S. accredited university or foreign equivalent. A doctorate degree is preferred;
   • At least Seven (7) years of executive level management in an educational institution of higher education of which five (5) years are continuous, or a combination of at least seven (7) years of executive level management including, secondary and post-secondary education teaching experience;
   • Experience working in a multicultural environment, preferably in the Pacific region and in the Northern Mariana Islands;
   • Substantiated experience in accreditation processes, personnel management, budget development and presentation, strategic planning and institutional assessment, fundraising, mediation, and team building; and
   • Demonstrated knowledge of federal programs and grants application to higher education.
3. The Search Committee will establish advertising parameters, such as advertising in local and/or mainland US as needed. The Search Committee will prepare interview questions and submit them to the HR for review by EEO, prior to the publication of the announcement. If necessary, the Board of Regents may approve a second public advertising of the job announcement.
4. Only complete Employment Application Packets will be received by the Administrative Support Committee.
   All applications must be received by the Northern Marianas College Human Resource Office by December 21, 2020, no later than at 4:30PM, ChST for full consideration.
5. The Administrative Support Committee will review all qualified applicants (in accordance with this Board Resolution, Job Announcement, and method of evaluation) and will communicate with applicants to acknowledge received application, conduct verifications, follow-up for supporting documents, and respond to inquiries as necessary.
6. Only applicants who have met the minimum qualifications and submitted complete Employment Application Packets within the JVA timeline will be forwarded to the Search Committee for review.
7. The Administrative Support Committee will be responsible for conducting the background and reference checks and providing this information to the Search Committee. The Support Committee shall provide a timeframe for the completion of background checks.
8. The Search Committee will conduct the Phase I interviews as follows:
   • If the applicant is on-island, a personal interview will be conducted;
   • If the applicant is off-island, a conference interview will be conducted;
   • The Administrative Support Committee will coordinate all logistics for the interviews; and
   • Off-island interviews may be arranged as directed by the Search Committee.
9. The Search Committee will forward to the Board of Regents all applicants which meet the requirements of the JVA and also recommend its top three (3) candidates in an unranked manner by XXXX XX, 2020, 3:00PM, ChST.
10. The Board of Regents, upon receiving all qualified applicants as well as the recommendations of the Search Committee, shall conduct Phase II of the interview process and interview any candidate which it deems appropriate in its sole discretion candidates by using a standard set of questions prepared by the Board of Regents.
11. At the conclusion of the Phase II interviews, the Board of Regents shall either appoint one of the candidates or reject all such candidates and request from the Search Committee that it continue its search.
12. The Board of Regents upon receiving additional candidates’ information may interview the candidates and follow the established procedures beginning with the Phase II interview process.

In summary, the steps to the presidential search process generally are as follows:

1. Declaration of the vacancy of the president's position
2. Development of a succession plan to ensure that the College is able to continue to operate successfully;
3. Development/update of job description: minimum education and experience; minimum professional qualifications; description of duties; methods of evaluation; compensation and benefits; required documents.
4. Development of a detailed ad for publication: description of the institution; institutional philosophy; job description; instructions for the application process; closing date and anticipated decision date; methods of notification.
5. Identify methods of advertising such as NMC website, local print media, and other outlets to circulate the job announcement;
6. Establish the presidential search timeframes for:
   1. Collection, acknowledgement, and safeguarding of application materials;
   2. Assessment of qualified candidates;
   3. Notification to unqualified candidates;
   4. Review of qualified candidates' applications;
   5. Scheduling of personal or telephone interviews (for both Phase I and Phase II interviews);
   6. Review and discussion of each viable candidate's attributes;
   7. Verbal offer by the Board of Regents to the selected candidate;
   8. Negotiation of contract and start date;
   9. Formal written offer to selected candidate (including contract);
   10. Notification to candidates not selected.