Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. February 20, 2017. The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is pleased to announce that the Government of Saint Lucia will host the annual meetings of the Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) to the Grants Committees of The UWI. These meetings will be held at the Bay Gardens Hotel, Rodney Bay Village, on February 20-21, 2017.
The agenda includes an examination the University’s biennium budgets for the period 2017/2018 and 2018/2019, and presentations of recommendations to the Campus Grants Committees (CGCs). The CGCs, in turn—chaired by Ministers of Education or the Ministers responsible for tertiary education; and including other members appointed by the Governments of the campus countries (Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago)—will review the recommendations presented by the TACs, with their mandate being to evaluate the University’s budgetary proposals and advise Governments on the provision of appropriate funding.
The University’s budgetary request to these committees covers the four campuses (Cave Hill, Mona, Open Campus and St. Augustine), the University’s Regional Headquarters (RHQ) and the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). In preparing its annual budget, the University takes into consideration its developmental needs, particularly human resources services to be maintained, anticipated inflation rates, and the outlook of the economies of regional states.
It places critical importance on its financial efficiency and accountability, especially given the nature of its regional configuration with operations that span various regional governments, which have the responsibility to fund the institution’s annual operations. In this regard, The UWI holds to the most rigorous processes for budgeting of annual funds for the operations of the regional institution. These yearly deliberations are testament to the highest standards of financial accountability adopted in The UWI’s stewardship of its business operations.
These meetings are rotated annually, and since 1998, have been hosted across 11 of the 17 UWI contributing countries. The Government of Saint Lucia successfully hosted the meetings in 2009 and the University is pleased to have its commitment as the 2017 host.
The 2017 edition of the meetings will commence with an Opening Session on Monday, February 20, 2017, which features The Honourable Dr. Gale T. C. Rigobert, Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development of Saint Lucia as the Keynote Speaker.
Participants at the two-day meetings will include Permanent Secretaries and senior officers from the Ministries responsible for tertiary education of The UWI’s 17 contributing countries; senior officers from the Ministries of Finance of the campus countries—Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago; and the Ministry of Health, Jamaica. Also in attendance will be The UWI’s senior executive management team including the Vice-Chancellor, Principals, Pro Vice-Chancellors, University Bursar and University Registrar as well as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Campus Bursars and Campus Registrars; along with the senior management team of the UHWI.
About The UWI
Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. The UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. For more information, visit www.uwi.edu
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
