-As National Commission on Higher Education concludes assessment
By Jerry T. Myers, switchnass1988@gmail.com 0770017207/0886976541
Sanniquellie, Liberia-As Nimbaians crave for their Community College to be elevated to a university, it seems they are now just a step away from achieving this dream, after an assurance by the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE).
Following an assessment conducted recently on the campus of the Nimba County Communty College (NCCC), the National Commission on Higher Education said the college is well on course to be granted a full-fledged university status.
Mr. S. Reginald Z. Mehnpaine, the Deputy Director for Planning, Research and Development at the National Commission on Higher Education headed the assessment team to the college campus in Sanniquellie.
He said their visit was to evaluate the capicity of the college so as to establish whether the college was prepared for the elevation in terms of facility, Infrastructure, Curriculum among other things that an institution must possess to offer a Bachelor degree.
Mr. Meinpan said his assessment team established that the NCCC has all it takes to be elevated to University status.
‘’The assessment has been going on well and I am quit impress; there are lot of pluses that the institution has. We saw the physical facility , the builldings are here, the Library, Laboratory and the offices are all in place. In terms of facility, we think that the faculty is also ok , we have most of them who have master degrees and so the school is actually on its way to a University but the only thing we did not see was the curriculum for each program, ‘’ the head of the NCHE assessment team explained.
NCCC campus in Sanniquellie, Nimba County
He furthered said that when the curriculum for each program is submitted to them in the coming weeks, the NCHE’s assessment team will then submit its report to the Board for its judgement as to decide whether or not they should grant a temporary University status to the Community College.
Mr.Meinpain encouraged the administration of the institution to speedily update the curriculum of its various programs at the soonest possible time, assuring Nimbaians that there are positive signals that the school will be upgraded to a university status.
He hailed the administration of the Nimba Community College for the level of work they have done over the years in maintaining the schoool, but challenged them to put in more time so as to make further progres.
The National Commission on Higher Education was established by an Act of the Liberian Legislature in 1989 to formulate broad policy guidelines for the establishment of institutions of Higher Education in Liberia. It serves as the regulatory body for all institutions offering degrees, and coordinate and serve as the as the principal liason between institutions of learning offering degreesin the country.
Additionally, the commission facilitates the establishment of an autonomous National Accredition center responsible to accredit all higher institutions of learning in Liberia; approves new and existing programs of higher education for funding, after having satisfied itselfof their needs for national development and assessing the institution’s ability to the program; and review existing programs at institutions of higher education with the aim of establihing priority programs of study based on national needs.
The recent assessment by the NCHE is in response to an application submitted by the administration of the Nimba County Community College for the elevation of the NCCC from an AA degree granting institution to a full-fledged University.