Ministry of Education Strengthening Relationship with University of West Indies

Minister for Education, Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and officials from the Ministry recently met with Mrs. Andrea McNish, Chief Financial Officer of the University of West Indies (UWI), to continue discussions about the funding of the Cayman Islands Open Campus site and how UWI can support the Ministry’s vision for tertiary education. The Government also delivered a payment of over CI$2.3 million to Mrs. McNish, bringing its UWI account current.

The Cayman Open Campus was established in 2006 and is one of 42 site locations in the region serving 17 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. Minister O’Connor-Connolly is keen to strengthen the relationship to ensure that the Government is seeing increased value for money. “The Cayman Islands Government’s relationship with the University of the West Indies dates back to the 1960s, and since then our country has benefitted from numerous Caymanian students who have received a world-class education from internationally respected professors and lecturers, all embedded in a Caribbean experience,” said Minister O’Connor-Connolly. “It is my hope to further solidify those ties but also come to an agreement on terms that more fairly reflect Cayman’s current and future participation in the open campus model.”

As a Contributing Territory, Caymanian students receive a number of benefits from UWI including: a) guaranteed admission spaces provided they meet the admission standards; b) a 40 % discount on tuition fees to sponsored students attending any of the three campus sites in Jamaica, Trinidad or Barbados; c) access to pursue courses in medicine, which might not otherwise be available due to the competitive entry requirements at other institutions; d) access for medical students to get the relevant clinical internships through attachment to University Hospital West Indies (UHWI) or to Jamaican hospitals affiliated to UHWI; and e) access to UHWI for post graduate studies for medical students, Benefits of the Open Campus include access to degrees and other qualifications at reasonable tuition fees for students without having to go off-island to study (US$300 per undergraduate course; US$450 per postgraduate course). Discussions are expected to continue at the UWI’s Technical Advisory Committee meeting that is taking place in February 2019 in Antigua and Barbuda.