Palau Community College - PCC

Palau Community College (PCC) was founded in 1969 as a two-year post-secondary vocational/technical institution. It grew out of a trade school that had its beginning in 1927 during the Japanese administration prior to World War II. PCC began with a small group of students enrolled in one vocational program on a campus with limited physical facilities. The expansion of vocational education resulted from such factors as a growing political awareness, articulation among the states/republics of Micronesia, and a greater commitment to educational and ecomonic development by the United States of America. Funding permitted the addition of facilities and staff so that by 1976, training programs were provided in more than twenty specific vocational areas grouped into ten trade clusters. The goal of a post-secondary institution for vocational education to prepare students with necessary skills and knowledge needed in a developing and expanding economy has not changed through the years. Until 1977, the Micronesian Occupational Center and the Community College of Micronesia were two autonomous post-secondary institutions serving Micronesia. On March 29, 1977, Trust Territory Public Law No. 7-29, amended later by Public Law 7-130, created the College of Micronesia as a public corporation under its own Board of Regents. The law, which took effect October 1, 1977, joined into a single post-secondary educational system the Micronesian Occupational Center and the Community College of Micronesia (which included the CCM-affiliated School of Nursing). In May 1978, Micronesian Occupational Center officially became Micronesian Occupational College, a distinct and complementary part of the College of Micronesia. In September 1987, a treaty among the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau regarding the College of Micronesia was executed establishing complete autonomy of each college in the COM system to local governments. The treaty was terminated on March 31, 1993, which laid the foundation for Palau Community College. On March 19, 1993, the Republic of Palau President Kuniwo Nakamura signed into law RPPL No.4-2, known as Higher Education Act of 1993, establishing Palau Community College as an independent college with its own governing board.. On April 2, 1993, Micronesian Occupational College officially became Palau Community College. ACCREDITATION

Palau Community College is a post-secondary vocational/academic institution serving all of Micronesia. Beginning in 1972, it developed into a viable technical institution through a series of self-evaluations and accreditation visits from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In June 1977, Palau Community College was granted full accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Again in 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997, after site visits and reviews of the institutional self-evaluation as required every five years, Palau Community College received reaffirmation of its accreditation status from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. After the site visit and review of the institutional self-evaluation in 2003, Palau Community College received reaffirmation and was granted a six-year term. Palau Community College will be up for its next self study evaluation in 2010. The College has been accredited by the Western Assocation of Schools and Colleges (WASC) for the last thirty-one (31) years.