The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities sanctioned North Idaho College with a formal warning in April 2022, citing governance failures on the Board of Trustees. The warning was the first step in a process that could ultimately threaten the college’s accreditation.

A peer evaluation panel from the NWCCU investigated complaints and issued a report describing the board as ‘dysfunctional.’ The report stated that the board chair’s role in questioning curricular content had a ‘chilling effect on faculty independence and diverse thought.’

The accreditor’s warning identified several areas of non-compliance, particularly in governance and institutional integrity, and gave the college recommendations to meet during a monitoring period.

NIC, a 90-year-old community college serving approximately 4,000 students in Coeur d’Alene, had been experiencing governance turmoil since the September 2021 firing of former president Rick MacLennan. The warning marked a significant escalation in the consequences of that turmoil.