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Learning Democracy by Doing Conference - Transformative ...

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<strong>Democracy</strong>andCampusLife PereiraMajors,varyingages(from18to50),socialbackgroundsandvariedgenderratiosfromonegrouptothenext,facilitatinganintegrativespirit.Asitturnedout,theoverallgenderdistributionhasnotbeenmuchdifferentfromthegeneralcampusprofile:closeto75%arefemale.Similarly,theFacultydistributionhasbeenfairlyreflectiveofthecampusprofile,savethatstudentsintheMBBSmedicalprogrammetendnottovolunteer,whilethoseinPure&AppliedSciencesareslightlyhigherthanthecampusratio,maybebecausetheyareyounger,moreadventurousstudentsonacampuswheretheaverageageiscloseto24.Itmaybearguedthatthetypeofstudentwhowouldcomeforwardandvolunteertoparticipateinsuchaprogrammeisalreadyamoreoutgoingpersonwillingtotrynewthings,andthatitisreallythosewhodonotvolunteerwhomostneedthistypeofexperience.However,thegroupshavecontainedstudentswhodescribethemselvesasshy–atleastatthestartoftheyear.Ultimately,compulsion,evenifitwereaffordable,cannotbringapositiveattitudetoparticipation.Thesuccessoftheprogrammesinceitsstarthasledtoword‐of‐mouthrecommendationoftheFirstYearExperience(FYE)tonewstudents<strong>by</strong>thosewhoparticipatedpreviously.ResourcingandFundingAprogrammesuchasthis,despitethevoluntary,unpaidnatureofthestafffacilitators,needsresourceallocation.Asithasexpanded,teachingstaffhavebeenofferedonehourweeklyofteachingrelief,butfewhaveoptedforthat.Asmorefacilitatorsareneededbecauseofexpandednumbers,however,itisbecominglesseasytofindsufficientsuitablevolunteers.GiventheperceivedvalueoftheFYEtodevelopingamoreintegratedandsociallyconsciouspersonmoreintunewiththeidealgraduatethattheUWIseekstoproduce,thecampusre‐allocatedfromelsewhereinitsbudgetapproximatelyUS$200perstudent(approx.2%oftheeconomiccostperstudenttorunthecampus)tocovergeneralprogrammeexpenses,outingsandsomeofthecommunityoutreachcosts.Othercostsforthecommunityprojectwerecovered<strong>by</strong>thegroupsthemselvesseekingtoraisesomeoftheresourcesneeded,enhancingtheirskillsinprojectdelivery.ThecampushasmovedtoestablishingaManagerwithresponsibilitysolelyforcommutingstudents,includingtheadministrativeoperations,andcosts,fortheFYE.Thesuccessofthefirstpilotyearmeantadoublingoftheprogrammeintaketo300inthefollowingyear,thento500intheyear2007/08andnowto750in2008/09,withtheattendantincreasesinbudgetallocationjustified<strong>by</strong>thesuccessesoftheprogrammeeachyearinbringingintothemainstreamofuniversitylifecommuterswhowouldhaveremainedrathermarginaltoUWI,acquiringunequalbenefitsfromtheinstitution.Asignificantresourcerequirementdevelopedduringthepilotyear.Beingaregionaluniversitywithcampusesinothercountries,andwithinanEnglish‐speakingCaribbeanintentongreatereconomicintegration,regionalismhasbecomeanincreasingconcernoftheUWImission.Aschemehadbeendevelopedin2000toencouragegreatermovementofstudentsacrossthecampusesofUWI,butwithresultslessthanexpected,sincestudentsseemedunwillingtospendanentiresemesteroryearatanothercampus.Inthefirstyearofitsoperation,theFYEconceptualizedaneducationaltourtotheothercampusesinBarbadosandTrinidad,asasortofincentiveandcontributortoregionalunderstanding,scheduledtotakeplaceafterfinalexamsinMay.Travelabroadhaslongbeenrecognizedas317

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