Mrs Carla Brown, Programme Officer of the University of the West Indies Open Campus in the Virgin Islands. Photo: VINO

Speaking with Virgin Islands News Online, Mrs Brown disclosed “The downturn in the economy has taken a toll on the students’ ability and willingness for quality education, especially education that is Caribbean based.” Additionally, she felt that in the virgin Islands (VI), persons are more geared towards the North American concept of education.

“In the Caribbean we tend to think that everything that comes from North America is superior to what we have here, which may not necessarily be the case… if you’re living in the Caribbean it will definitely help to have a Caribbean perspective on your education base so that you can address the immediate needs, not only in your personal arena, but also in the community that you serve,” she offered.

Noting that the Open Campus addresses persons on all levels, she explained that previously persons had to satisfy matriculation requirements for entry, but this has since changed. “They had to have 5 [CXC] ‘O’ Levels and 2 ‘A’ Levels just to get their foot in the University,” she expressed. Through the Open Campus, persons are now accepted based on work and professional experience and other qualifications besides CXC in order to enter Certificate Programmes.”

The Open Campus also facilitates persons without CXCs who have built credits through the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) before transferring the credits to the Open Campus. An agreement with the HLSCC was established in July 2012 to facilitate the process.

According to Mrs Brown, though the student population currently has younger students who have just departed high school, the Campus composition tends to be somewhat older since the structure basically caters for persons at work.

Programmes offered

Two of the programmes alluded to, were Human Resource Management and Criminology, the latter in particular being a programme that quite a few Police officers have since displayed a desire to enter. It was felt that the reason for this was that it offered areas of study such as forensic science among others. There is also a Certificate in Community Policing that has been attracting local officers. In addition to these, there is also a Certificate in Tourism and Hospitality Management and general social sciences.

Associates Degrees include Business Management (BUMA) and Paralegal Studies. It was found that many of the younger students have been attracted by the Associate's Degree in Paralegal studies offered by the Campus, a continuing trend that emerged as more persons have been inclined to work in the legal profession that supports the Territory’s many offshore financial services companies. Mrs Brown noted, “We have a very high demand for lawyers and legal secretaries in the BVI because of the offshore industry.” The programme is designed to be two years but is flexible and can be extended to suit the applicant’s desire.

Once programmes are introduced, target marketing is done to create awareness. Emails are sent as well as facebook updates on what is new. There are also website and radio ads which extend these efforts. Recruitment drives are conducted with schools both in Tortola and outlying islands as part of the Campus’ outreach efforts.

Most of the classes for the Open Campus are described as portable since access to the courses are available online; the Campus allows students to register, receive study packs and work from the comfort of an environment of their choice. Most of the qualitative work for the campus is done in this manner but quantitative tutorials are mostly held on-campus once per week with students. “It’s something that you really need to do… engaged in a classroom setting,” Mrs Brown said. Law classes are also held twice per week in face to face sessions on campus as well.

The Programme Officer also explained that the Open Campus has given itself a mandate to make a contribution to the society in helping to preserve the VI family. “For two long we’ve had persons… mothers or fathers picking up themselves to do their Master’s or Bachelor’s degrees in another country…” Persons then spend two or four years away doing either and return to the VI with their degrees but quality of family life afterwards often appears to have been reduced to a broken one. The current structure of online courses allows persons to stay in the VI and help to avoid this apparent breakdown while still achieving their degrees.

There are four members of staff that help to execute the Campus’ mandate; the Programme Officer, a Technician, Administrative Assistant and Clerical Assistant for front desk duties. “It’s all hands on deck, we have to operate as a team,” she said, “we don’t compartmentalise jobs.”

The tuition costs at the Open Campus are described as competitive and cost-effective with universities in the United States. Meanwhile, programmes are usually added on the basis of the demand being exhibited for them within the Territories. She added that the quality of the programmes offered are of a high standard. “When you do a programme with UWI, you become literally a specialist in the field that you have chosen, because all of your credits are geared towards fulfilling that particular specialty you have signed up for.” The emphasis of the programmes are usually based on the specialty or major that the student has chosen.

Mrs Brown encouraged prospective students to invest in themselves and their future in pursuing programmes with the University. “Get serious about your future and your education because that is the only way you are going to move up and move forward in life,” she concluded.