The College of the Marshall Islands is an autonomous community college offering two-year associate degree programs. It primarily serves students from within the Micronesian region and is designated as the post-secondary institution for the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), as so enacted in RMI PL 1992-13, The College of the Marshall Islands Act. The College of the Marshall Islands offers degree programs in the areas of liberal arts, elementary education, business, and nursing and allied health.

As the national college of the Republic of the Marshall Islands , the CMI faculty, administration, and staff recognize the need to raise the standards of higher education in this nation to internationally required levels. Our mission is to provide high-quality educational services to the Marshallese people and to students from other nations who desire a post-secondary education.

The regents, administration and faculty of CMI believe that quality education is essential to the well-being of individuals and to the well-being of the Marshallese people as a whole, now and in the future. We are therefore committed to creation of an educational environment where individual differences of gift, potential, and belief are recognized; where personal choice, responsibility, and growth are encouraged; and where educational content addresses the general and specific needs of the students, the local community and the nation. We further believe that integration of theoretical knowledge and practical experience is a fundamental value of successful education in our rapidly changing society. Achieving this integration of the theoretical and the practical requires a blend of flexibility and consistent evaluation. Students of CMI are acknowledged individually as whole beings capable of reflective thinking and prepared to make wise choices concerning their present and future.

The College fulfills this mission through:

• General Education
  

  Teaching the principles and practices of information acquisition, critical thinking, and clear statements in English (the chosen medium of instruction); familiarity with other cultures and with the arts; an understanding of basic higher mathematics and computers; and a knowledge of basic scientific principles, including the ecological and environmental principles of special importance to the RMI.

  
  
• Promoting Further College Study
  

  Preparing students for bachelor’s and advanced degrees.

  
  
• Preserving the Past
  

  Helping Marshallese and other students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to understand their own cultural, ethical and traditional values, and to preserve them in the contemporary, social, and technical society.

  
  
• Meeting Remediation/Developmental Needs
  

  Preparing students for credit-level college work and meaningful employment, through rigorous and responsive remediation and developmental programs.

  
  
• Training for Work
  

  Qualifying students to fill positions in areas of critical need in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

  
  
• Campus Environment
  

  Creating and fostering a campus atmosphere that encourages people to learn.

  
  
• Community Enrichment
  

  Providing opportunities for lifelong learning and cultural experiences that are responsive to the emerging needs of the people of the RMI.

  
  
• Sustainable Development
  

  Taking the lead to promote sustainable economic development in the RMI through research and community outreach.

Jitdam means a question.  Traditionally it refers to the young people asking their elders about their lineage.  The road to knowledge begins with questions that arise within a culture.  The beginning of an answer comes from these queries.  The answer begins to tell our story - who we are, how we fit into the scheme of things, and where we are going.  From it we sense our meaning; know our identity; and shape our values, religion, laws, economy, and society.

Kapeel  means skillful.  It refers not only to manual skills, but skills of the intellect and of the heart as well.  Educated people are those who honed the critical skills of analysis and judgment, who have become proficient and creative in the skills of craft.  Their creative expressions, whether in the sciences or the arts.  is informed by the values which emanate from the story of who they are, where they are from, and where they are going.

The College of the Marshall Islands is fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Why is Accreditation Important?

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the leading authorities on educational quality. The ACCJC develops criteria for evaluation and peer review that are used to assess CMI and other Pacific 2-year colleges in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific, Hawaii, and California. An “accredited” school or college means that the institution meets or exceeds the standards of the ACCJC.

The College of the Marshall Islands’ accreditation is important for several reasons. First, accreditation indicates that the institution has met and maintained the highest levels of educational quality. Second, it also means that credits earned at CMI can be transferred to and are accepted by other accredited institutions in the United States. Lastly, accreditation status is important as it qualifies students for Pell Grants and other U.S. Federal financial aid to pursue higher education at CMI.

Whenever an institution deviates from the WASC eligibility requirements and standards, sanctions are imposed. In June 2005, after a site visit and a review of the institutional self-evaluation from ACCJC, CMI was continued on Show Cause status for the third time. In January 2006 the Show Cause status was removed and the College moved up a level to Probation status. In January 2007, following a November 2006 on-site visit, the College was moved up another level to Warning status. The College expects another on-site visit in the Fall of 2007, and another determination of the College’s status will be made in January 2008.

CMI is governed by a Board of Regents appointed by the RMI Cabinet. The Board of Regents sets policies and appoints the President, who is responsible for the operation and general administration of the College.

CMI prizes and defends freedom of speech and dissent. It affirms the right of teachers and students to teach and learn, free from coercive force and intimidation, subject only to the constraints of reasoned discourse and peaceful conduct. It also recognizes that such freedom and rights entail responsibility for one’s actions. The College assures and protects the rights of its members to express their views so long as there is neither use of threat nor interference with the rights of others to express their views. The College considers disruption of class or other academic activities to be a serious offense that damages the integrity of an academic community.

Respect for the rights, dignity, and integrity of others is essential for the well-being of a community. Actions by any person which do not reflect such respect for others are damaging to each member of the community and damaging to CMI. Each member of the community should be free from interference, intimidation, or disparagement in the work place, the classroom, and the social, recreational, and residential environment.

 The College of the Marshall Islands (CMI) is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).  In 1996-97, after site visits and a review of the institutional self-evaluation, CMI received reaffirmation of accreditation status.  In 1999, in conjunction with another site visit, WASC renewed its affirmation of accreditation status for the College.

CMI adheres to the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. CMI is committed to maintaining a work environment which is drug and alcohol free. Compliance with CMI’s Drug and Alcohol policy is a condition of continued employment and is clearly stated in the Personnel Manual.

The community college now known as the College of the Marshall Islands (CMI) came into existence officially when the Board of Regents of the Community College of Micronesia (CCM) issued its charter on 10 October 1989, designating it as the College of Micronesia-Majuro . Two years later, in January 1991, it was given its present name and accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. In April 1993, CMI became an independent entity with its own Board of Regents and was chartered to serve as the post-secondary agency for RMI. A more recent change occurred in 1996--the establishment of a CMI branch at Gugeegue on Kwajalein Atoll, replacing an earlier extension center there.

CMI, as an institution, can trace its origins to several earlier programs; of these, the oldest was a school of nursing established by the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands . Begun on Moen Island in Chuuk (1953), it was later moved to Pohnpei, to Palau , to Saipan in the Northern Marianas , and finally, in 1986, to Majuro. This School of Nursing was affiliated in 1972 with the University of Guam , to confer the Associate of Science degree in Nursing. Two jurisdictional changes occurred later: in 1975, the Trust Territory Department of Public Health assigned responsibility for the school to the Community College of Micronesia (CCM) under the Trust Territory Department of Education; and, in 1978, to the newly created College of Micronesia’s (COM) first Board of Regents.

The origins of education courses at CMI can be traced to the Micronesia Teacher Education Center (MTEC), opened in 1963 on Pohnpei for in-service instruction. It soon established a branch on Majuro, known as Marshalls ’ Teacher Education Center (MARTEC). In 1970, the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory issued a directive making the education centers into the Community College of Micronesia (CCM); thus, Majuro’s program became an extension of CCM, offering pre-service elementary teacher education. Three years later, in 1973, it added a Curriculum, Learning and Training Center (CLT) which awarded graduates a two-year degree in education. The dual focus of CLT was on teacher education and curriculum development; this latter covered most elementary subjects and was tested in Majuro’s Rita Elementary School . In 1990, the program, now called the Continuing Education Center , ceased to be an extension of CCM and it was renamed CMI Division of Instructional Services.

A third component of the present institution dates from 1981, when CCM, based in Pohnpei, was awarded U.S. Land Grant status. It began operations on Majuro in 1983, offering non-credit courses in agriculture and home economics, among others, and it continues to do so. By 1987, all three programs—nursing, education, and Land Grant extension—were housed together in Majuro on the present campus; in 1988, they were integrated under a single administrator by directive of the COM Board of Regents. In 1989, they were combined to constitute the College of Micronesia-Majuro which became independent in April 1993 as the College of the Marshall Islands (CMI).