Subject: IIMC President's Message - Education Task Force

November 7, 2007
 
 
To:   IIMC Board Members and IIMC Members
 
From:  Charles E. Tokar, J.D., MMC
            IIMC President
 
 
Re:  Education Task Force
 
I wanted to take this opportunity to report back to our membership regarding the recent discussion and actions being taken pertaining to our education mission.
 
First, at the IIMC Board of Directors mid-year meeting on Friday October 26th, the number one item on our agenda was education.  All members of the Board were in attendance, along with Executive Director Chris Shalby, Director of Education Dr. Mohammad Eftekhari, City Clerk of Atlanta Rhonda Dauphin Johnson, Florida State President Tammy Vock, Florida Education Chair Lisa Burns, and Florida Institute Director Jeff Hendry.
 
Since the beginning of the year, a number of concerns have been expressed from a growing number of members in many regions relating to problems with the implementation of the new educational guidelines, the criteria for CMC and MMC designations, and the approval process for acceptable coursework at institutes/academies and other educational seminars and conferences.  Many individuals, from Institute Directors to Association Officers to members pursuing their CMC or MMC designations, have taken the time to speak or write to me as well as their region directors and headquarters staff, and I sincerely want to thank each and every one of them for their input.
 
I want everyone in our IIMC community to know that your concerns have been heard and that as a result of a very lengthy, wide-ranging, and open discussion which took most of Friday morning, a consensus was reached on a course of action for our organization.
 
I am appointing a Task Force consisting of representatives from our various partnership stakeholders, i.e., the IIMC Board, our Institute Directors, state associations, and our general membership.
 
I want to assure you that this Task Force will be expressly directed to stick to a schedule of deadlines for the various issues for which recommendations are being requested. Most pressing is the urgent need to determine the extent of “grandfathering” which will apply for those who were already in a CMC or MMC program prior to January 1, 2007. Second are the various issues surrounding the pre-approval process currently in effect:  whether there is a need for pre-approval of educational coursework, or whether the pre-approval process needs to be eliminated or simply streamlined further and in what way.  
 
I consider clarification regarding these two issues - “grandfathering” and the pre-approval process – to be immediately necessary and am requesting a recommendation for the Board of Directors’ consideration by November 30th.
 
The Task Force will also be charged with a long-term review of the education guidelines and criteria with twin goals of removing ambiguities and simplification.  In addition, the Task Force will review the application process, the elimination of the levels in the MMC Academy program, and the concerns that have been expressed regarding our online learning program.  I would expect that this would require considerably more time and for that I will be setting a deadline of March 31, 2008.
 
I would encourage anyone having serious input regarding the issues before the Task Force to please contact the individuals appointed in writing by email.
 
Finally, I want to thank the Board of Directors for the very professional way in which this complex topic was discussed.  I believe that a key word in this upcoming difficult process is compromise. I would urge all IIMC members and Institute Directors to be patient, and give this blue ribbon panel an opportunity to set things right.  I would also strongly encourage the Task Force Members themselves to be open to all opinions and focus on the middle ground in seeking answers and resolution.
 
 
IIMC EDUCATION TASK FORCE

CO-CHAIRS:
 
Jim Kaatz
Missouri Institute Director
jameskaatz@missouristate.edu

Kathryn Dornan
IIMC Region V Director
kdornan@fhgov.com

MEMBERS:
 
Eddie Myers
IIMC Region IV Director
emyers@hattiesburgms.com

Updated: 04/24/2008