• www.sgu.edu and through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter at StGeorgesU.

 

The Antigua State College, Antigua and Barbuda
The Antigua State College (ASC) certainly adheres to the motto ‘Empowerment through Education’. Established in 1977 and with an initial roll of 156 students, the College population has now increased to almost 1000, accommodating sixth Form Students preparing for their Advanced Level examinations.

This growth in numbers has also been matched with the improvement of student accommodation and the introduction of new programmes such as Business Studies and the First Year University Programme. The latter is a collaboration with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, and shows the significant strides that the College has taken to ensure that students have access to completing an undergraduate degree. 

This government-run College offers a wide variety of courses at Tertiary Level Education in a variety of academic, vocational and professional areas, and successful students are awarded College Diplomas or Associate Degrees depending on the programme pursued. Each year students are enrolled from amongst the following programmes: 
• Advanced level
• Commercial
• Engineering Craft
• First Year University
• Teacher Education: Primary
• PGuidance Counselling: UWI Teacher’s Training Certificate

In addition, there are also technical vocational training programmes on offer in Home Management, Office Practice, Refrigeration and Electronics, Agriculture and other areas that cater to a wide range of students, while assisting with the national development agenda of Antigua and Barbuda.

Most students reflect with fond memories of their time at the College and there is an active, informal alumni society that utilises social media tools to arrange reunions and limes for specific graduating years. Being a graduate of the College is as Antiguan as Chickies’ Disco at the Antigua Recreation Ground!

• http://www.asc.edu.ag/

 

Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies, Barbados
Nicholas Hoyte studied at the Barbados Community College (BCC), from which he graduated with an Associate Degree in French and Spanish for Business Tourism. He then remained in Barbados to complete an undergraduate programme in Management and French at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill. Nicholas believes that both these institutions are well-equipped, particularly in the foreign languages department, and he is quick to credit his near flawless French accent to his academic years in Barbados, and not just his teaching experience in France.

Although he has travelled extensively for both pleasure and work, Nicholas finds himself drawn to his alma mater, the Community College, where he is now a teacher in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programme.

“I feel like I’ve never left! Former teachers are now my colleagues, and although it is strange for me going from “Mr” and “Miss”, to referring to them on a first name basis, I can’t think of anywhere else in Barbados I’d rather be,” he says.

According to Nicholas, both of these institutions are positive examples of regional integration, as many of the students who come to Barbados to study English are from the French West Indies and Latin America and there are endless opportunities for a cultural and linguistic exchange that is not just limited to the classroom but all spheres of student activity.

Both institutions have seen recent developments over the years, such as the establishment of the state-of-the-art Language Institute at the College, and the Hotel PomMarine Hospitality Institute. The latter provides practical training in the tourism and hospitality sector, the mainstay of the Barbadian economy, and it is a popular venue for business lunches for the surrounding offices.

Over at the University it is believed that half of the construction on the island in the past decade occurred on the Cave Hill Campus. With buildings such as the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, the CARICOM Research Park and the 3Ws Pavilion springing up, it is easy to see why Cave Hill has developed in leaps and bounds and easily rivals the other UWI campuses of St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago and Mona, Jamaica.

• BCC:  http://www.bcc.edu.bb/
• UWI, Cave Hill Campus: http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/

 

 

H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, British Virgin Islands
The idea of a Community College for the British Virgin Islands was conceived in 1982, but it was not until 1990 that the institute was established and subsequently renamed the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, in honour of the founding chairman of the College’s Board of Governors.

It has subsequently grown in leaps and bounds, from 135 students enrolled in 19 courses to the 700-plus students currently enrolled. The admission requirements vary for each specific course, but for most of the Associate Degree programmes offered, a prospective student usually requires four subjects at Caribbean Examination Council’s (CXC) Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level or equivalent. Management, Science, Business and Computer Studies are just some of the popular courses offered by the College. 

The College is always evolving and adapting to the demands and needs of society as well as prospective students, and the Virgin Islands Studies Project is an example of one of the innovative programmes being offered which specifically addresses not only the history but also the national and social development of the British Virgin Islands.

• http://www.hlscc.edu.vg


Dominica State College, Dominica
“Beyond quality and excellence” is the motto of Dominica’s premier post-secondary institution, and both staff and students seem determined to live up to this. This publicly funded institution was established in 2002 and although it can be considered as the ‘baby’ of tertiary institutions across the region in age, the College certainly matches its longer-established contemporaries in academic service. The training programmes offered are expansive and cover Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Health and Environmental Science, Teacher Education, Technical and Technological Training, Tourism and Hospitality, Business, Ecological and Maritime Studies and Adult and Continuing Education. Studies in these disciplines can lead to certificates, associate degrees and baccalaureate degrees.

One of the distinctive offerings of the College is its popular Study Abroad Programme, which exposes students to another learning environment and culture whilst promoting a greater exchange of academic discourse across our already expansive Caribbean region. Thanks to the numerous agreements and strategic partnerships with various colleges and universities, students of the College have the opportunity to complete some of the credits of their respective programmes at the following institutions:  
Caribbean
• University of the West Indies
• University of the Virgin Islands
• University of Technology
• Université des Antilles et de la Guyane.
United States of America
• Medgar Evers College CUNY
• Midwestern State University
• Plattsburg State University
• Monroe College
• Grambling State University.

Canada
•Okanagan College
The College has an established Scholarship and Financial Aid programme, with firms and individuals in Dominica contributing each year to assist students in covering their tuition fees. While every little bit counts, the following are the most prestigious awards offered and students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or above throughout the tenure of these awards:
• The Chairman of the Board of Governors Award – semester tuition valued at EC $350.00
• Ross University American Student Award – a full two-year scholarship valued at EC$7,000.00
• Government of Dominica National Awards to attend the Dominica State College – based on CXC results
• http://www.dsc.dm/

 

 

University of Guyana, Guyana
Before Guyana became a Republic and an independent country, the ‘bread basket of the Caribbean’ established the public University of Guyana (UG) in 1963, primarily based on the assessment by then Premier Cheddi Jagan that although the country had been financially contributing to UWI since 1948, the regional institution was not meeting the demands of Guyanese for higher education. 

UG has since evolved from an evening institution with a roll of 164 students in the Arts, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences to having currently over 5000 students at the 1500 acre Turkeyen Campus on the outskirts of capital city Georgetown, and over 350 students at the Tain Campus in Berbice. Students now have Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry, Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Technology; School of Earth and Environmental sciences, School of Education and Humanities, School of Professional Development and an Institute of Distance and Continuing Education to choose from.

Some of the most popular courses offered are the Commonwealth Executive Master in Business Administration, Commonwealth Executive Master in Public Administration and a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences.

UG is also in close proximity to the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters, and it is perhaps this intimate relationship that enhances the popularity of the Commonwealth Executive programmes. It should also come as no surprise that Guyana, as a champion of climate change and sustainable development, offers Environmental Sciences and related studies.

There are scholarships and financial assistance on offer at UG, one of the most coveted prizes being the Shivraj Maraj Memorial Award for the best graduating student with a degree in Computer Science.

Dr. Gordon Harewood is a proud graduate of UG, completing his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from 1970-1973 and 1976-1978 respectively. After completing his Masters in Education, Dr. Harewood was awarded funding to pursue his PhD at the University of Toronto.

“I can say without reservation that UG provided a top quality education and a foundation for many of us to go on to excel at postgraduate studies at leading universities all over the world.” But it wasn’t all work and no play, as Dr. Harewood remembers.

“For the most part we were very serious students… well, except for the Friday nights when the Banks Beer flowed freely. Many of us were part-time so we worked during the day and attended classes from 5pm. Somehow we managed to fit in dominoes, cards, cricket and football.”

• http://www.uog.edu.gy/

 

Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, St Lucia
It would be impossible to discuss academia and education in the Caribbean without mentioning St Lucia, home to two Nobel Laureates: Derek Walcott and Sir Arthur Lewis, the latter being the College’s namesake.

The College was established in 1985 as an institute to offer courses in Agriculture, Arts Science and General Studies, Health Science, Teacher Education and Educational Administration and Technical Education and Management Studies.

The tuition fees vary based on regional, CARICOM or international student status. For all programmes the international fee is ES$10,000.00 per annum. For St Lucians, depending on the programme, fees can range from EC$300.00 for the Advanced Level Programmes to EC$2280.00 per annum for the B.Ed. Programme affiliated with UWI. The fees for CARICOM nationals are usually double that offered to St Lucians. The Government of St Lucia offers a number of bursaries annually to new and returning students who qualify and there is also a Work/Study Programme available on campus to students who wish to balance their studies with part-time employment.

Undoubtedly, students of the College are aware of the legacy of Sir Arthur Lewis and they aspire to attain levels of success in their respective areas as he would have done.

• http://www.salcc.edu.lc

 

University of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago
In 2004, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago established the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) with a mandate to educate and train nationals. Nearly seven years later UTT has become a fast-growing community of scholars and now serves a culturally diverse population of students in technical and other programmes, ably guided by internationally respected professors in their individual field of expertise.

Dav-Ernan Kowlessar, Business Development Consultant, believes that, “UTT was established to complement and not compete with UWI. The focus was to drive the economy of the country forward, especially in the areas of the petrochemical industry in which we have a niche market.”

In fact, UTT launched the Natural Gas Institute of the Americas in 2006, dedicated to natural gas-related research that impacts the largely hyrdrocarbon-based economy.

UTT has since broadened its scope and offers programmes in Performing Arts, Maritime Studies and Caribbean Fashion and Design. There are also short courses in Inventory and Contract Management, Minute Taking and Effective Time Management for Business Professionals being offered to further develop the students.

• http://u.tt/

University of the West Indies St Augustine, Trinidad; Mona, Jamaica
Possibly the ‘Godfather’ of Caribbean tertiary institutions, the University of the West Indies is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean. The university has three physical campuses, at Cave Hill in Barbados, St Augustine in Trinidad and Mona in Jamaica. While each campus has unique characteristics there is a unifying pull that attracts all “UWI” alumni. Some say it is a common understanding that if you survive UWI, you can survive anywhere in the world!

UWI was founded in 1948 and achieved independent university status in 1962. Each of the physical campuses has faculties common to all such as Humanities, Education and Social Sciences. Cave Hill and Mona have the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences while St Augustine houses the School of Natural Sciences and the School of Agriculture.  Nowadays there seems to be increasing overlap as to the subject areas each campus offers with Cave Hill accepting first year students to their Faculty of Medicine in 2008, when they previously only accommodated medical students in the final two years of their programme. Whether this overlap is duplication or complementary, it is undeniable that UWI is a positive example of regional integration and many graduates have gone on to excel across the region and the international landscape. It is also encouraging to note collaboration and strategic partnerships amongst the regional tertiary institutions. For example, when UG emerged to fill a perceived gap that UWI was not filling, many of the lecturers in Guyana were UWI alumni or UWI lecturers on attachment.  Regional integration at its best!

• St Augustine: http://sta.uwi.edu/
• Mona: http://www.mona.uwi.edu/