Why the change?
According to Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, “the tremendous legacy of the Open Campus and the role it has for the future can only be secured in the context of fundamental restructuring and reengineering.”
This evolution to the Global Campus is both a strategic move and the next natural step in an already successful global strategy. It is anticipated that the Global Campus will be a major pillar in the Revenue Revolution phase of The UWI’s Triple A Strategy through aggressive entrepreneurial activity that takes our excellent programme offerings online to wider regional and global markets.
In essence, the new Global Campus seeks to improve and extend the operations of the legacy Open Campus through knowledge export. As The UWI implements its new five-year second instalment of the Revenue Revolution strategic plan which focuses on monetizing the University’s sterling academic reputation, it is seeking to enter the global online education market to generate increased revenue to assist in financing its annual operational budget. The UWI will re-brand its existing Open Campus as the Global Campus to signal the new focus and strategic direction of that campus. The Open Campus’ sterling asynchronous online expertise and distance education experience will be leveraged in order to achieve optimal results for the Global Campus, and the entire University.
What is the core difference between the Open and Global Campus?
The UWI will be rebranded and repositioned to focus on the global online learning market alongside its traditional regional offerings. The Open Campus does not currently have a strategic focus on the global market. The re-branding will serve to herald the new global focus to internal and external stakeholders. The Global Campus will also be home to the International School for Development Justice (ISDJ). This will be the Campus’ own business school which will specifically offer a new product line – SDG focused, postgraduate academic programmes delivered in an online format which leverages the excellence and expertise of the traditional Open Campus.
The Global Campus is therefore the overall entity which encompasses both the legacy Open Campus and the ISDJ.
Will current Open Campus students have the same access to resources and use the same learning resources in the new Global Campus?
Currently enrolled students will not notice any significant change/s regarding the teaching and learning process. All students will access the Learning Exchange, the Library resources and all other support systems in the same way. The Academic and Programming and Delivery (APAD) Division, the Computing and Technology Services (CATS), and other relevant divisions within the legacy Open Campus will continue to support students in the teaching and learning process. Please note that the Global Campus Sites (formerly Open Campus Country Sites (OCCS)) will remain the in-country support for all our programmes.
How will the transition to the Global Campus impact the Open Campus Country Sites (OCCS)?
The staff in the Open Campus Country Sites will automatically transition to the Global Campus. Sites will have to ensure that all Open Campus branding materials and assets reflect the new Global Campus identity. This however will happen on a phased, incremental basis over the course of the new academic year 2023/2024. In general, the transition must be viewed by all staff and students as an “evolutionary” process rather than an abrupt change.
Who is responsible for leading the transition to the Global Campus?
A multifaceted Implementation Committee is being established to formulate and roll out a plan to transition the Open Campus to the Global Campus. The road map is anticipated to see incremental changes from August 1, 2023, with a full operationalization of the new Global Campus by January 2024. The transition is jointly managed under the direction of the University Registrar, Dr. Maurice D. Smith and the Campus Registrar, Global Campus (formerly Open Campus), Mrs. Althea Gordon.
Will the Global Campus be responsible for all online programmes at The UWI?
The UWI Global Campus will be responsible for all the programmes formerly offered by The UWI Open Campus as well as those new programmes to be delivered under the International School for Development Justice (ISDJ). This includes certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees as well as Continuing and Professional Education Programmes. Part of the novelty of the Global Campus, which sets it apart from the former Open Campus, is that the ISDJ will more consistently and routinely draw upon the brilliant research, scholarship and course development expertise of The UWI’s full-time academics and scholars across the University.
What is the official start date for Global Campus operations?
The Open Campus will officially transition to the Global Campus effective August 1, 2023. A full operationalization of the new Global Campus is expected by January 2024.
What will happen to students currently enrolled in Open Campus programmes?
Students currently enrolled in the Open Campus will continue as students of the Global Campus.
For Alumni of the Open Campus, will their degrees still be recognised?
The Open Campus degrees will continue to be valid and recognised since all degrees are awarded by the Senate of The University of the West Indies and not by a specific campus. Therefore, all of the degrees will remain valid. It must be noted in practical terms that the parchment paper (on which the degrees are printed) never specifies the campuses at which the degrees were read for. They are degrees of The University of the West Indies.
What about the accreditation process? Which entity holds accreditation, Open Campus or Global Campus?
The Barbados Accreditation Council approved the transfer of the institutional accreditation from The UWI Open Campus to The UWI Global Campus.
What is the difference between the financial foundation of the Open Campus and that of the Global Campus?
The UWI sees an opportunity to leverage its global academic reputation and the online education capabilities of the Open Campus to enter and serve selected niche areas of the large and rapidly expanding global online education market. The major initiative to emerge from the new Global Campus, is a for profit entrepreneurial income-generating business school which will be named the International School for Development Justice (ISDJ). The earnings from this for-profit entity will be used to secure the university’s financial viability.
How will the issues of the legacy Open Campus’ salary delays be averted as we transition to the new entity?
It is anticipated that the Global Campus will generate the necessary level of entrepreneurial activity to contribute to addressing salary delays. It is also recognised that this is to be realised in the medium to long term as The UWI cements its regional programme offerings as well as makes significant inroads in the global markets in the areas identified as being the focus of the ISDJ.
