The Siren of North Idaho College
NIC Trustee Christie Wood’s nonprofit Kootenai Task Force for Human Relations is the singular organization leading the charge to threaten NIC’s accreditation status with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
KFARCE = Kootenai County Task Force for Human Relations
NWCCU = Northwest Commission on Colleges and UniversitiesWhat is NWCCU?
In a nutshell, NWCCU complies with some rules that the U.S. Department of Education puts forth to become an accreditation agency. It’s really a creature of the Federal government –– not the private sector.
In true fashion of the Federal government, the actual value that NWCCU brings to the table is somewhat opaque. They don’t actually audit NIC’s degree programs, or classroom units to assess the quality of education at the college.
So what’s NWCCU do for NIC anyway?
The NIC webpage on NWCCU’s accreditation is full of word salad (I can’t read it… you try!). Lewis-Clark State College’s webpage about NWCCU is *slightly* more helpful:
In the words of the late Norm MacDonald: “it sounds like some f—–g1 commie gobbledygook.”
There are 6 other accreditation agencies in the Northwest Region besides NWCCU.
The Power of NWCCU
Wielding this power from the U.S. Department of Education, the NWCCU can determine whether NIC can be funded with Federal Student Loans/Grants.
That’s a big deal.
If NWCCU ultimately decides to remove NIC’s accreditation, students would have to find other means to fund their education. As NIC Interim President Sebaaly said: this would cause enrollment to drop sharply.
Christie “Deepthroat” Wood
An accreditation agency (like NWCCU) can only take disciplinary action against a college when they receive a formal complaint from local stakeholders in North Idaho. Like a local nonprofit, charitable foundation, etcetera. Y’know. Some bull—-2 taxable entity like that.
Which organization actually sent these complaints to NWCCU, you ask? It was none other than Christie Wood’s nonprofit, Kootenai County Task Force for Human Relations <KFARCE>.
Wood is one of the original founders of KFARCE, and is currently the president of KFARCE. According to their bylaws, she’s actually the top official (see below).
Following are the 2 complaints that KFARCE sent to NWCCU.
These screenshots were taken directly from hosted PDFs on the NIC website (complaint#1 and complaint#2).
You might also note that the presidents of KFARCE’s sister chapters all signed the formal complaint whereas KFARCE’s secretary, Tony Stewart, signed the document. It’s… weird.
Additionally, and this is the real doozy, the only organization that has been in touch with NWCCU has been KFARCE.
No one else.
No other organization.
You can verify my claims here on NIC’s Accreditation webpage.
Why So Serious, Christie Wood?
Despite the anguished cries for help coming from the Left side of NIC’s Board of Trustees that the school’s accreditation status is in peril… Christie Wood’s nonprofit is actively fulfilling the role of complainant to NWCCU.
If your brain still worky good, and your conclusion is that this is absolutely bonkers… you’d be right.
Christie Wood is wasting taxpayer dollars with this half-baked political gambit against Chairman Banducci and Trustee MacKenzie. Each person that sits on the NIC Board of Trustees was elected by the voters. Remember that. This gaslighting and attack on your elected representative is a slap in the face to you.
Will the CDAPress report this?
Will Christie Wood loosen her death grip around NIC’s neck?
Will North Idaho parents forget this when it’s all said & done?
Actionables
- Send an email to the NIC Board of Trustees, and ask why Christie is using her organization to takedown NIC (board@nic.edu 📬)
- Share this article :”> This is one of those hidden-in-plain-sight situations that needs wide exposure before any corrective action can occur. Tell your mom! Tell your kids! Tell your friends! Tell your dog!
- Christie Wood is on the ballot in November 2022. Make sure to vet the ever-loving-bejeezus out of the candidates that will be running for her seat. It’s a 4-year term.
- Maybe NIC needs to find another accreditation agency? There’s actually 7 in this region. If NWCCU doesn’t have the discernment to see this for what it is, then maybe NIC needs to acquire a better accreditation agency.
- Alternatively, NIC can just yeet NWCCU out of a moving car. Imagine a world where our student’s learning, dreams, and aspirations wasn’t underwritten (and owned) by the Federal government. It’s yoking their future an unthinking, hostile machine.
- Refrain from engaging directly in a dialogue with Christie Wood. She’s a classical narcissist and that always makes things worse.
Miscellaneous
🎥 Watch the full NIC Board of Trustees meeting below. The good stuff is during public comments (1min 58sec timestamp), and also the constituency reports that followed it.
Footnotes
- F—-g = frigging
- Bull—- = bullcrap
