Friday, February 22, 2008Higher Learning

Dr. Michael E. O'NealTertiary Education in the British Virgin Islands

Challenge and Change

Publicly funded higher education is currently, and almost universally, facing one of the most challenging periods in its history, and HLSCC is not exempt from these forces. At the end of 2004, the College’s Administration was mandated to initiate an organisational and academic restructuring exercise, which would examine current structure, course offerings, finances and working practices. The aim was also to make the necessary changes that would ensure that the College would operate within the anticipated constraints of its 2005 budget and beyond.

The cardinal and foundational policy parameter that the College’s Board of Governors approved was that an agreed-upon set of priorities that are consistent with the mission of the College should provide the framework for decision-making concerning the nature of programmes and services, the allocation of resources, and the nature of organisational responsibilities governing the institution’s day-to-day operations. In approving such priorities, the College re-affirmed the importance of preparing students for immediate employment and further studies abroad. It also placed emphasis on such areas as improving governance and accountability, and strengthening the College’s overall operations by pursuing accreditation by the United States-based Middle States Commission of Higher Education.

Achieving an accredited status for the College will be an important milestone. HLSCC will be among the first in the Caribbean to achieve such a status. While accreditation is not primarily about credit transferability, the fact is that HLSCC students will transfer with even greater assurance that they are competitive and that they are graduating from an institution that is measured by the same standards as colleges and universities in the United States of America and a number of institutions in Europe, Australia, Sweden and other parts of the world that have submitted themselves to a voluntary review, using standards defined and accepted within the higher education community.

The agreed priorities further indicated that the College would continue to participate in preserving local culture and the environment, as well as providing cultural opportunities, but would do so primarily in partnership with other organisations. The College also introduced a new “open access” policy that is designed especially to ensure that a larger number of residents could receive training in areas that prepare them for immediate employment. Emphasis was placed on short-term courses that prepare working adults for vocational certification by well-known organisations such as City and Guilds and the National Auto Parts Association (NAPA). Courses were planned in such areas as automotive repair, marine engine repair and the training of boat captains. The stage was also being set for additional areas of customised training. In focusing its efforts on programmes with high demand, several programmes that had been less well subscribed over the preceding three years were discontinued.

Addressing Strategic Priorities

Against the backdrop of ineluctable challenge and change that characterise the recent past, HLSCC continues to successfully advance its mission and address the strategic initiatives that have been set. Quite early in its history, the HLSCC developed a reputation for innovative and expeditious development and delivery of academic programmes and curricula. The College continues to fulfil its mission to provide “educational opportunities which lead to the improvement of the quality of life for the members of the community it serves while also linking the economic and human resource development needs of the Territory.” Permit me to highlight, selectively, a few areas of development at the College over the past year, by way of programme updates. During the 2006/2007 academic year, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the HLSCC Division of Workforce Training launched a pilot programme to develop and deliver training in the technical trades. The pilot programme’s courses included woodworking, electrical wiring, and refrigeration and air conditioning. On 13 June 2007, 21 students received certificates attesting to their successful completion of this programme. Also within the portfolio of the College’s Division of Workforce Training, the institution will begin offering our Disaster Management curriculum through distance learning in the Fall Semester this year. The programme, which is the result of ongoing collaboration by several agencies, including the College, Government’s Department of Disaster Management and Training Division, and the Pan-American Health Organisation, will be available for students throughout the Caribbean and even globally via the Internet.

Last year, HLSCC received accreditation as a centre for the delivery of programmes of the UK-based Chartered Management Institute. Fifteen students received CMI diplomas in last year’s graduation ceremony. Thirty-five students received their CMI certificates, diplomas, or executive diplomas at HLSCC’s graduation exercises on 7 June 2007. I am also delighted to announce that HLSCC has also signed an agreement with Manchester Metropolitan University regarding progression for successful CMI Executive Diploma graduates into the University’s M. Sc. in business management programme. Through this agreement, those holding the Executive Diploma will be exempt from the first year of the master’s degree and the final year will be delivered by the University, here at HLSCC, using blended learning approaches. Eight of the successful Executive Diploma students are currently enrolled in the master’s programme. There are currently a total of 66 students in the various CMI programmes, with further expansion of the programmes planned in 2008.

In keeping with the College’s decision to seek accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (USA), in December 2006, HLSCC, as an important step in this iterative process, submitted a fulsome document in application for accreditation candidacy status. The initial response by Middle States was recently received and affirms the positive progress made in this regard, as a result, it is anticipated that a first site visit by Middle States may take place early in the coming academic year. The most critical phase of the process, however, still lies ahead. It will involve the faculty, staff and administrators in an even more in-depth and honest self-study of programs, policies, and systems for planning and assessing our effectiveness. This critical examination is bound to greatly improve the very infrastructure of the institution. No stone will be left unturned in that process, and we will take seriously the recommendations we receive from our faculty and staff, as well as members of the public who will participate with us in such a self-examination.

The issue of access to tertiary education has, for some time, been one of growing importance and concern, not only in the British Virgin Islands, but also throughout the Region. Improving access of students, ensuring that they remain in college to completion of their programmes of study and are successful in their academic and lifelong pursuits have, together, been receiving unprecedented attention at HLSCC. Indeed, access, retention and success are inextricably intertwined and are being treated at such at the College.

At the start of the 2006/2007 academic year, the Government introduced the Tuition Assistance Programme, which offers free tuition to British Virgin Islanders, thereby making a college education more accessible. This programme of free tuition has resulted in the highest student enrolment in the 17-year history of the College. For the semester just ending June 2007, 976 students were enrolled at HLSCC, of whom 709 (or 72.6 percent) benefited from the Tuition Assistance Programme. The previous highest student enrolment at the College was 907, which was recorded in the 2002 Spring Semester. In addition to the clear impact of the Tuition Assistance Programme on student numbers, the increasing enrolment figures can no doubt also be partly attributed to the College’s “Registration on the Road” initiative. The College recognises the need to “connect” with residents of the various communities it serves in the Territory and this “outreach and recruitment” drive has served as an effective strategy in opening doors for student access and for fulfilment of the College’s mission. While these recent developments certainly offer opportunities to both students and the College, they have also highlighted important challenges related to the College’s support services with respect to student retention and success. Cognizant of the need to improve the student retention and academic success side of the equation, the College has moved to establish what is being called a “Student Success Centre” at the Paraquita Bay Campus. The Student Success Centre will be a “one stop” unit of support, resources and referrals for students, who will be served through a personalized and structured approach that includes such services as basic skills assessment and course placement, academic advising and academic tutoring, personal counselling, career assessment and counselling, and health care and information. The college has grown dramatically over the course of its 17 years of existence and has gained recognition locally, regionally and, through its far-reaching articulation arrangements, internationally, for its innovation and commitment to addressing the expressed tertiary education needs of the British Virgin Islands. The institution now finds itself engaged in what has been called “the dance of change” [10], the inevitable interplay between growth processes and limiting processes. In this context, I envision a College which, having successfully addressed the current challenges initially occasioned by changed fiscal circumstances, builds upon the sustainable successes of the past––attentive to the guiding principles of relevance and accountability––and emerges as a model of excellence in teaching, learning and governance in tertiary education, not only for this Territory and the region, but also internationally.

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