Board Policy D-202.00
Institutional Effectiveness Criterion: Enrichment

Public School Academies

1. The Board of Trustees of Northwestern Michigan College believes that public school academies can serve a useful function in the education of students within its boundaries.  In an effort to foster diversity of educational opportunity without sacrificing quality of education or unnecessarily duplicating existing educational opportunity of a like nature, the board may review and accept or reject applications for contractual authorization of public school academies.
2. All approved programs shall have clearly defined educational goals, competent administration and staff to carry out those goals, sufficient financial resources for achieving those goals, and means and methods for ongoing evaluation of the program.
3. A regional public school academy review committee shall be appointed to consider concept and/or application proposals and to recommend approval, modification, amendment, or rejection to the president and board from time to time.  The recommendation shall include the proposed length of term of the initial agreement (not to exceed three years, renewable at the discretion of the board), as well as the proposed date of the start of education.  The agreement, including monthly financial and operational status reports and annual audit, shall be subject to review by the board.
4. It is further understood that the board shall have the authority to suspend the charter at any time when it is deemed in the best interest of the Northwestern Michigan College or the students enrolled.
5. The review committee shall be advisory only and shall not usurp authority from local agencies authorized to charter one or more academies.  The review committee shall afford potential candidates an opportunity to gain insight and information relative to criteria necessary to receive a charter.  It shall serve to provide a consistent process and “user-friendly” initial steps to those interested in the establishment of an academy.
6. Special attention shall be paid to and a detailed description shall be included concerning the fiscal arrangement proposed by the applicant.  The President is authorized to develop staff policy and procedures necessary for the implementation of this policy.

If any provision(s) of this policy or set of bylaws conflicts with laws applicable to Northwestern Michigan College, including the Community College Act of 1966, the Freedom of Information Act, or the Open Meetings Act, as each may be amended from time to time, such laws shall control and supersede such provision(s).