UWI Discusses its Expansion Across The Bahamas - Open Campus ...

The Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) OpenCampus, Professor Hazel Simmons-McDonald, along with University Bursar, Mr. ArchibaldCampbell, and the Head of UWI Open Campus Bahamas, Dr. Barbara Rodgers-Newbold,recently met with the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Hon. Perry Christie on June 17, 2013.The meeting was scheduled to begin serious discussion about the future expansion of theUniversity in The Bahamas, and to explore ways in which the University can engage incollaborative ventures with the Government of the Bahamas.The UWI currently operates four facilities in the Bahamas, namely, the School of ClinicalMedicine and Research, the LLB/COB Law Programme, the Centre for Hotel & TourismManagement, and UWI Open Campus Bahamas. The Open Campus Bahamas offers both onlineand face-to-face programmes and continuing and professional education programmes.At the recent meeting, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s philosophicalcommitment to the University of the West Indies and expressed his desire and interest inestablishing a closer working relationship with the University. The Prime Minister indicated thatUWI should have a more defining role in advising the Government of the Bahamas and madespecial reference to possible collaboration on projects such as the establishment of anagricultural school in the Bahamas.Professor Simmons-McDonald, expressed the UWI’s readiness to continue working with theGovernment in various capacities, including using the consultancy services and expertise ofUWI’s Consulting Company to assist with the country’s developmental programmes.The UWI is the largest and leading tertiary institution in the English speaking Caribbean, havingbeen established sixty-five years ago as a college of the University of London. The Universityhas more than 47,000 students and boasts over 120,000 alumni serving in senior governmentpositions and in the public and private sectors across the Caribbean and internationally. Amongthe University’s graduates are more than 60 Rhodes scholars and 14 Heads of Government.Many of the Bahamas’ prominent leaders, diplomats, civil servants, and professionals are proudgraduates and alumni of the University of the West Indies.

In keeping with its commitment to “provide multiple, flexible paths for all constituencies topursue tertiary education over their lifetime,” the University expanded its presence in theBahamas by establishing its Open Campus, which originated out of its previous anteceduents ofExtra-Mural Studies, the School of Continuing Studies and UWIDEC. The UWI Open CampusBahamas currently offers students the flexibility of enrolling in a wide range of accredited onlineand face-to-face certificates, diplomas, bachelors, masters, and post-graduate diplomaprogrammes.The Open Campus Bahamas also offers a wide range of on-site professional developmentcourses through its Workforce Training Series which was launched in January of 2013 to assistpersons to enhance their workplace skills and competencies. The series also provides employerswith on-site employee training and development programmes.For further information about the UWI Open Campus Bahamas, please visit our website atwww.open.uwi.edu/bahamas.About The UWI###Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledglingcollege in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students.Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding university in the English-speaking Caribbean,with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla,Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica,Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & theGrenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 40 physicalsite locations across the region, serving over 17 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean.UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries andcollaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWIoffers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education,Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences.